🔹 Shared Responsibility Model — Storage
When using AWS storage (EBS, EFS, EC2 Instance Store), it's critical to know what AWS handles vs. what you handle. This is a core topic on the Cloud Practitioner exam.
☁️ AWS Is Responsible For
Hardware reliability — EBS/EFS data is replicated across multiple devices, so one hardware failure doesn't cost you data
Faulty hardware replacement — AWS automatically replaces failed drives/hardware
Data privacy — AWS employees can't access your stored data; strict controls prevent unauthorized access
✅ In short: AWS handles infrastructure, replication, and physical security.
🧑💻 You're Responsible For
Backups & snapshots — set these up yourself to avoid accidental data loss
Encryption — add your own encryption layer for extra protection
Whatever you write to disk — that data is entirely on you to manage and monitor
Instance Store risk — this storage is ephemeral; stopping or terminating the instance deletes the data. Back up anything critical elsewhere.
✅ In short: You handle data protection, encryption, and backups.
📊 Quick Reference
Responsibility | AWS | Customer |
|---|---|---|
Infrastructure reliability | ✅ | ❌ |
Hardware replication & failure handling | ✅ | ❌ |
Data privacy from AWS employees | ✅ | ❌ |
Backups & snapshots | ❌ | ✅ |
Encryption | ❌ | ✅ |
Data written to disk | ❌ | ✅ |
Instance Store risk management | ❌ | ✅ |
🎯 Exam Tip
AWS = security of the cloud (infrastructure, hardware, replication)
You = security in the cloud (data, backups, encryption, access control)
✅ Recap
AWS: hardware reliability, replication, employee data privacy
You: backups, encryption, managing instance store data responsibly
Knowing this split keeps your data secure — and is exam-ready knowledge