Utilizing encryption at rest to protect the database data living on your hard drive is a smart choice, especially when dealing with sensitive customer data. Encryption at rest protects the data files by encrypting the actual files the MySQL/MariaDB server reads and writes to on the file system. Although they are binary files they can still be read relatively easily using standard tools as well as being “imported” into a different MySQL/MariaDB server. Encryption at rest is just one part of a total solution and this post is going to cover what it takes to get it running using the AWS Key Management System for key control on macOS using Homebrew.