A company has Linux-based Amazon EC2 instances.

To meet the requirements for automatic key rotation of EC2 SSH key pairs with minimal downtime, storing the keys in AWS Secrets Manager and defining a rotation schedule is the most suitable solution. AWS Secrets Manager supports automatic rotation of secrets, including SSH keys, by invoking a Lambda function that can handle the creation of new key pairs and the replacement of public keys on EC2 instances. Updating the corresponding private keys in Secrets Manager ensures secure and centralized management of SSH keys, complying with the key rotation policy and minimizing operational overhead.

AWS Secrets Manager Documentation: Describes how to store and rotate secrets, including SSH keys, using Secrets Manager and Lambda functions.

AWS Lambda Documentation: Provides information on creating Lambda functions for custom secret rotation logic.

AWS Best Practices for Security: Highlights the importance of key rotation and how AWS services like Secrets Manager can facilitate secure and automated key management.