EBS default encryption is not enabled for this region
- Severity
- Medium
- Service
- EC2
- Check ID
- EBS_DEFAULT_ENCRYPTION_DISABLED
What this check finds
When EBS default encryption is off, new volumes and snapshots created without an explicit encryption setting are unencrypted. Enabling it ensures all future EBS resources are encrypted at rest without requiring per-resource configuration. CIS v5.0 §5.1.1.
Passing looks like: EBS default encryption enabled.
How to fix it
Enable EBS encryption by default for the region.
AWS CLI
aws ec2 enable-ebs-encryption-by-default --region REGION
Names in capitals are placeholders for your own resource. Review a command before you run it.
AWS console
EC2 → Account attributes → EBS encryption → Manage → Enable. This only affects newly created volumes; existing unencrypted volumes must be migrated separately.
Compliance controls it is evidence for
A failing result counts against these controls in KloudLytics; a passing one is evidence towards them. How compliance mapping works
| Framework | Controls |
|---|---|
| CIS AWS Foundations Benchmark v5.0.0 |
|
| PCI-DSS v4.0.1 |
|
| HIPAA Security Rule |
|
| SOC 2 — Trust Services Criteria |
|
| NIST SP 800-53 Rev5 (Moderate) |
|
| NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 |
|
| ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A |
|
Checked on every scan
KloudLytics runs this check each time it scans a connected AWS account, through a read-only role, and lists every affected resource with its region. On Pro and Business a fix is written for the specific resource rather than the general case above. The exact access it needs
More EC2 checks
- HighAccount does not block public sharing of EBS snapshots
- HighAMI is publicly shared
- HighEBS snapshot is public
- HighEC2 instance CPU spiked abnormally — possible compromise or runaway process
- HighEC2 instance has an IAM role with admin privileges
- MediumAccount default for instance metadata does not require IMDSv2
- MediumEBS volume is not encrypted at rest
- MediumEBS volume is unattached and incurring storage cost