Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Alibaba Key Management Service VS AWS CloudHSM

Compare Alibaba Key Management Service VS AWS CloudHSM and see what are their differences

Alibaba Key Management Service logo Alibaba Key Management Service

Key Management Service allows you to create and manage encrypted keys to protect your data. You can use APIs or Alibaba Cloud management console to produce and manage Customer Master Keys.

AWS CloudHSM logo AWS CloudHSM

Data Security
  • Alibaba Key Management Service Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-29
  • AWS CloudHSM Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-02-02

Alibaba Key Management Service features and specs

  • Ease of Use
    Alibaba Key Management Service (KMS) offers a user-friendly interface and API, allowing for easy management and integration of encryption keys into applications and services on Alibaba Cloud.
  • Scalability
    Designed to scale with your business, Alibaba KMS can handle a large volume of keys and high-frequency encryption operations without compromising performance.
  • Enhanced Security
    Provides robust security features, including key rotation, HSM (Hardware Security Module) backed keys, and fine-grained access control, ensuring that your data is securely encrypted and access is tightly controlled.
  • Compliance Support
    Helps businesses meet compliance requirements by providing detailed logging of key usage and ensuring that encryption practices adhere to various regulatory standards.
  • Cost-Effective
    Offers competitive pricing and a pay-as-you-go model, making it cost-effective for businesses of all sizes to implement strong encryption practices.

Possible disadvantages of Alibaba Key Management Service

  • Limited Global Availability
    Compared to some other key management services, Alibaba KMS might not have as wide a range of global data centers, potentially affecting latency and availability for international operations.
  • Ecosystem Lock-In
    While deeply integrated with Alibaba Cloud offerings, users may find it challenging to use with non-Alibaba services, resulting in potential lock-in to the Alibaba ecosystem.
  • Complexity in Advanced Use Cases
    Some businesses may find advanced features complex to set up and manage, especially if they require customization beyond the standard offerings.
  • Documentation and Support
    The documentation, while comprehensive, may not be as thorough or accessible as global competitors, potentially requiring additional support for complex implementations.
  • Potential Integration Challenges
    Users leveraging a multicloud strategy or integrating services from different providers may face integration challenges compared to using a more universally supported key management service.

AWS CloudHSM features and specs

  • Compliance Requirements
    AWS CloudHSM is compliant with various industry standards and regulations, such as FIPS 140-2 Level 3, enabling organizations to meet specific compliance requirements with ease.
  • Dedicated Hardware
    CloudHSM provides dedicated hardware Security Modules (HSMs) for enhanced security, offering physical and logical isolation from other users.
  • Customer Control
    Customers retain full control over the cryptographic keys and operations within the HSM, ensuring that AWS staff cannot access or manage these keys.
  • High Availability
    AWS CloudHSM can be configured for high availability, with automatic clustering and redundancy to ensure continuous operation and minimal downtime.
  • Scalability
    Users can add and remove HSMs on-demand, allowing for scalable performance and capacity that aligns with their needs.
  • Easy Integration
    CloudHSM integrates with various AWS services and third-party applications, allowing for seamless deployment of cryptographic operations.

Possible disadvantages of AWS CloudHSM

  • Cost
    CloudHSM can be more expensive compared to other AWS managed key services, as it involves the cost of dedicated hardware and additional management overhead.
  • Management Complexity
    The requirement for customer management of the HSMs introduces complexity, particularly for organizations without specialized staff or knowledge in cryptographic operations.
  • Hardware Dependencies
    Being dependent on physical hardware may limit the ability to quickly adapt to certain changes compared to entirely software-based solutions.
  • Region Availability
    AWS CloudHSM may not be available in all AWS regions, potentially limiting its usage for global applications that require region-specific deployments.
  • Initial Setup
    The initial setup and configuration process can be intricate and time-consuming, potentially requiring specialized expertise.

Alibaba Key Management Service videos

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AWS CloudHSM videos

AWS re:Inforce 2019: Achieving Security Goals with AWS CloudHSM (SDD333)

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Alibaba Key Management Service and AWS CloudHSM)
Security & Privacy
23 23%
77% 77
Password Management
30 30%
70% 70
Password Managers
100 100%
0% 0
Network & Admin
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, AWS CloudHSM seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 5 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Alibaba Key Management Service mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Alibaba Key Management Service yet. Tracking of Alibaba Key Management Service recommendations started around Mar 2021.

AWS CloudHSM mentions (5)

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Alibaba Key Management Service and AWS CloudHSM, you can also consider the following products

Azure Key Vault - Safeguard cryptographic keys and other secrets used by cloud apps and services with Microsoft Azure Key Vault. Try it now.

Egnyte - Enterprise File Sharing

OpenSSH - OpenSSH is a free version of the SSH connectivity tools that technical users rely on.

GnuPG - GnuPG is a complete and free implementation of the OpenPGP standard as defined by RFC4880 (also known as PGP).

Entrust KeyControl - Entrust KeyControl is a multi-cloud key management system that provides secure storage, protection, and recovery of cryptographic keys that are used to encrypt or decrypt data and information.

Thales SafeNet Luna HSM - Thales SafeNet Luna HSM is an open-source HSM that protects encryption keys used by applications in on-premises, virtual, and cloud environments.