delete-keys.md

copyright	lastupdated	keywords	subcollection
years 2018, 2024	2024-07-01	delete key, delete encryption key, curl -x delete, delete key api	hs-crypto

{{site.data.keyword.attribute-definition-list}}

Deleting keys by using a single authorization

{: #delete-keys}

If you are a manager for your {{site.data.keyword.cloud}} {{site.data.keyword.hscrypto}} instance, you can use {{site.data.keyword.hscrypto}} to delete root keys or standard keys and the contents that the keys protected.

Before you delete keys, make sure you understand the concept of deleting and purging keys and review the considerations.

Deleting keys with the UI

{: #delete-keys-gui} {: help} {: support} {: ui}

By default, {{site.data.keyword.hscrypto}} requires one authorization to delete a key. If you prefer to delete your encryption keys by using a graphical interface, you can use the UI.

After you create or import your existing keys into the service, complete the following steps to delete a key:

1. Log in to the UI{: external}.
2. Go to Menu > Resource list to view a list of your resources.
3. From your {{site.data.keyword.cloud_notm}} resource list, select your provisioned instance of {{site.data.keyword.hscrypto}}.
4. On the KMS keys page, use the Keys table to browse the keys in your service.
5. Select the key that you want to delete and click the Actions icon to open a list of options for the key.
6. From the options menu, click Delete key, enter the key name to confirm the key to be deleted, and click Delete key.

After you delete a key, the key moves to the Destroyed state. You can restore the deleted key within 30 days after its deletion. Metadata that is associated with the key, such as the key's deletion date, is kept in the {{site.data.keyword.hscrypto}} database.

Deleting keys with the API

{: #delete-keys-api} {: api}

By default, {{site.data.keyword.hscrypto}} requires one authorization to delete a key. You can delete a key and the contents by making a DELETE call to the following endpoint.

https://<instance_ID>.api.<region>.hs-crypto.appdomain.cloud/api/v2/keys/<key_ID>

This action can't succeed if the key is actively protecting one or more cloud resources. You can review the resources that are associated with the key, or use the force parameter at query time to delete the key. {: important}

1. Retrieve your service and authentication credentials to work with keys in the service.

2. Retrieve the ID of the key that you would like to delete.

   You can find the ID for a key in your service instance by retrieving a list of your keys, or by accessing the UI.

3. Run the following cURL command to permanently delete the key and the contents.

   curl -X DELETE \
     "https://<instance_ID>.api.<region>.hs-crypto.appdomain.cloud/api/v2/keys/<key_ID>" \
     -H "authorization: Bearer <IAM_token>" \
     -H "bluemix-instance: <instance_ID>" \
     -H "x-kms-key-ring: <key_ring_ID>" \
     -H "prefer: <return_preference>"

   {: codeblock}

   Replace the variables in the example request according to the following table.

   Variable	Description
   region	Required. The region abbreviation, such as us-south or au-syd, that represents the geographic area where your {{site.data.keyword.hscrypto}} instance resides. For more information, see Regional service endpoints.
   port	Required. The port number of the API endpoint.
   key_ID	Required. The unique identifier for the key that you would like to delete.
   IAM_token	Required. Your {{site.data.keyword.cloud_notm}} access token. Include the full contents of the IAM token, including the Bearer value, in the cURL request. For more information, see Retrieving an access token.
   instance_ID	Required. The unique identifier that is assigned to your {{site.data.keyword.hscrypto}} instance. For more information, see Retrieving an instance ID.
   key_ring_ID	Optional. The unique identifier of the key ring that the key belongs to. If unspecified, {{site.data.keyword.hscrypto}} searches for the key in every key ring that is associated with the specified instance. Therefore, it is suggested to specify the key ring ID for a more optimized request. \n \n Note: The key ring ID of keys that are created without an x-kms-key-ring header is default. For more information, see Managing key rings.
   return_preference	A header that alters server behavior for POST and DELETE operations. When you set the return_preference variable to return=minimal, the service returns a successful deletion response. When you set the variable to return=representation, the service returns both the key material and the key metadata.
   {: caption="Table 1. Describes the variables needed to delete keys with the API" caption-side="bottom"}

   If the return_preference variable is set to return=representation, the details of the DELETE request are returned in the response entity-body.

   The following JSON object shows a sample returned value.

   {
     "metadata": {
         "collectionType": "application/vnd.ibm.kms.key+json",
         "collectionTotal": 1
     },
     "resources": [
           {
               "type": "application/vnd.ibm.kms.key+json",
               "id": "02fd6835-6001-4482-a892-13bd2085f75d",
               "name": "test-root-key",
               "aliases": [
                   "alias-1",
                   "alias-2"
                 ],
               "state": 5,
               "extractable": false,
               "crn": "crn:v1:bluemix:public:hs-crypto:us-south:a/f047b55a3362ac06afad8a3f2f5586ea:12e8c9c2-a162-472d-b7d6-8b9a86b815a6:key:02fd6835-6001-4482-a892-13bd2085f75d",
               "imported": false,
               "creationDate": "2020-03-10T20:41:27Z",
               "createdBy": "...",
               "algorithmType": "AES",
               "algorithmMetadata": {
                   "bitLength": "256",
                   "mode": "CBC_PAD"
               },
               "algorithmBitSize": 256,
               "algorithmMode": "CBC_PAD",
               "lastUpdateDate": "2020-03-16T20:41:27Z",
               "dualAuthDelete": {
                   "enabled": false
               },
               "deleted": true,
               "deletionDate": "2020-03-16T21:46:53Z",
               "deletedBy": "..."
           }
       ]
   }

   {: screen}

   For a detailed description of the available parameters, see the {{site.data.keyword.hscrypto}} key management service API reference doc{: external}.

Using the force query parameter

{: #delete-key-force}

{{site.data.keyword.hscrypto}} blocks the deletion of a key that's protecting a cloud resource, such as {{site.data.keyword.cos_full_notm}} buckets. You can force-delete a key and the contents by making a DELETE call to the following endpoint.

https://<instance_ID>.api.<region>.hs-crypto.appdomain.cloud/api/v2/keys/<key_ID>?force=true

When you delete a key with registrations that are associated, you shred the key's contents and associated data. Any data that is encrypted by the key becomes inaccessible. {: note}

This action can't succeed if the key is protecting a resource that's non-erasable due to a retention policy. You can verify whether a key is associated with a non-erasable resource by checking the registration details for the key. Then, you must contact an account owner to remove the retention policy on each resource that is associated with the key before you can delete the key. {: important}

1. Retrieve your authentication credentials to work with keys in the service.

2. Retrieve the ID of the key that you want to force delete.

   You can retrieve the ID for a specified key by making a GET /v2/keys/request, or by viewing your keys in the UI.

3. Run the following cURL command to force-delete the key and the contents.

   curl -X DELETE \
   "https://<instance_ID>.api.<region>.hs-crypto.appdomain.cloud/api/v2/keys/<key_ID>?force=true" \
   -H 'authorization: Bearer <IAM_token>' \
   -H 'bluemix-instance: <instance_ID>' \
   -H "x-kms-key-ring: <key_ring_ID>" \
   -H 'prefer: <return_preference>'

   {: codeblock}

   Replace the variables in the example request according to the following table.

   Variable	Description
   region	Required. The region abbreviation, such as us-south or eu-de, that represents the geographic area where your {{site.data.keyword.hscrypto}} instance resides. For more information, see Regional service endpoints.
   port	Required. The port number of the API endpoint.
   key_ID	Required. The unique identifier for the key that you would like to delete.
   IAM_token	Required. Your {{site.data.keyword.cloud_notm}} access token. Include the full contents of the IAM token, including the Bearer value, in the cURL request. For more information, see Retrieving an access token.
   instance_ID	Required. The unique identifier that is assigned to your {{site.data.keyword.hscrypto}} instance. For more information, see Retrieving an instance ID.
   key_ring_ID	Optional. The unique identifier of the key ring that the key belongs to. If unspecified, {{site.data.keyword.hscrypto}} searches for the key in every key ring that is associated with the specified instance. Therefore, it is suggested to specify the key ring ID for a more optimized request. \n \n Note: The key ring ID of keys that are created without an x-kms-key-ring header is default. For more information, see Managing key rings.
   return_preference	A header that alters server behavior for POST and DELETE operations. When you set the return_preference variable to return=minimal, the service returns a successful deletion response. When you set the variable to return=representation, the service returns both the key material and the key metadata.
   {: caption="Table 2. Describes the variables needed to delete keys with the API" caption-side="bottom"}

   If the return_preference variable is set to return=representation, the details of the DELETE request are returned in the response entity-body.

   The following JSON object shows a sample returned value.

   {
       "metadata": {
           "collectionType": "application/vnd.ibm.kms.key+json",
           "collectionTotal": 1
       },
       "resources": [
           {
               "id": "2291e4ae-a14c-4af9-88f0-27c0cb2739e2",
               "type": "application/vnd.ibm.kms.key+json",
               "aliases": [
                   "alias-1",
                   "alias-2"
               ],
               "name": "test-root-key",
               "description": "...",
               "state": 5,
               "expirationDate": "2020-03-15T20:41:27Z",
               "crn": "crn:v1:bluemix:public:hs-crypto:us-south:a/f047b55a3362ac06afad8a3f2f5586ea:30372f20-d9f1-40b3-b486-a709e1932c9c:key:2291e4ae-a14c-4af9-88f0-27c0cb2739e2",
               "deleted": true,
               "algorithmType": "AES",
               "createdBy": "...",
               "deletedBy": "...",
               "creationDate": "2020-03-10T20:41:27Z",
               "deletionDate": "2020-03-16T21:46:53Z",
               "lastUpdateDate": "2020-03-16T20:41:27Z",
               "extractable": false
           }
       ]
   }

   {: screen}

   For a detailed description of the available parameters, see the {{site.data.keyword.hscrypto}} key management service API reference doc{: external}.

What's next

{: #delete-key-next}

• To restore a previously deleted key, check out Restoring keys.
• To create another root key, check out Creating root keys.
• To delete the service instance, check out Deleting service instances
• To find out more about programmatically managing your keys, check out the {{site.data.keyword.hscrypto}} key management service API reference doc{: external}.