AWS Key Management Service vs Fornetix Key Orchestration Platform

AWS Key Management Service creates and controls cryptographic keys for data encryption and digital signatures. It centralizes key lifecycles and permissions, including separate control over administrators and key users. KMS supports symmetric encryption, asymmetric signing or encryption pairs, and HMAC generation and verification. The AWS Encryption SDK can use KMS as a key provider for local application encryption and decryption. Integrations include Amazon S3, EBS, RDS, DynamoDB, Lambda, and CloudTrail. With CloudTrail enabled, requests can record the user, time, API action, and key. AWS says hardware security modules validated to FIPS 140-3 Security Level 3 protect key material and operations, with plaintext keys kept only in volatile HSM memory. Multi-Region keys support cross-Region workflows; external key stores keep material in a customer-managed external manager. KMS scales with demand but has default key and request limits. The listed plan is $1 a month per KMS key, prorated hourly.

Fornetix Key Orchestration Platform centers on VaultCore, which automates enterprise encryption key management and lifecycle work across an organization. It supports policy-driven key rotation and enforcement, with access controls that combine attribute-based and role-based rules. Fornetix says VaultCore supports over one hundred million keys. It connects to KMIP-compatible systems, while Orchestration Gateway plugins translate non-KMIP integrations including AWS, Azure, and F5. VaultCore is available as a hardware, virtual, or cloud appliance. The gateway runs on Windows Server or Linux and provides REST API integrations. VaultCore provides Common Event Format logging and can respond to SIEM alerts, including Splunk alerts, with rapid rekeying. Fornetix describes support for compliance work involving GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and NIST 800, and integrations with HSMs such as nCipher; it cites FIPS 140-2 Level 3 certification for that combination. Pricing is by quote, and a full-featured 30-day trial is available. The company is headquartered in Frederick, Maryland.