Define data protection controls

Once data has been classified according to its sensitivity and criticality, appropriate protection controls must be applied to ensure the data is secure and compliant with relevant regulations. These controls should be aligned with the classification levels, ensuring that more sensitive data receives stronger protections while less sensitive data is handled according to best practices. Defining and implementing data protection controls is crucial for safeguarding your data throughout its lifecycle.

1. Apply encryption based on classification level: For sensitive data (such as personally identifiable information (PII) or financial data), implement encryption both at rest and in transit. Use AWS Key Management Service (KMS) to manage encryption keys securely across services like Amazon S3, Amazon RDS, and DynamoDB. For less sensitive data, such as public data, encryption may still be used but with standard configurations that reflect the lower risk.
2. Use access controls to protect sensitive data: Implement strict access control policies to ensure only authorized users or services can access classified data. For highly sensitive data, use fine-grained access controls through AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) policies and resource-based policies to restrict who can view or modify the data. Ensure multi-factor authentication (MFA) is required for accessing critical data resources.
3. Implement monitoring and logging: Set up monitoring and logging for all data access activities to track who accessed the data and what actions were performed. Use AWS CloudTrail and Amazon CloudWatch to log and monitor access patterns, particularly for sensitive data. Implement alerting for unusual or unauthorized access attempts, such as multiple failed login attempts or access from untrusted locations.
4. Use tokenization or data masking for sensitive data: For highly sensitive data, such as credit card numbers or health records, consider tokenization or data masking to obfuscate the data when it is stored or transmitted. Tokenization replaces sensitive data with a non-sensitive equivalent, while masking hides parts of the data during processing or transmission.
5. Define retention and disposal policies: Ensure that data is retained according to its classification and applicable regulatory requirements. For example, highly sensitive data might need to be securely deleted or archived after a certain period, as required by laws like GDPR. Define automated workflows for securely disposing of data once it is no longer needed, ensuring compliance with data retention policies.
6. Apply security policies for external sharing: If data classified as sensitive is shared externally, ensure it is protected using encryption and secure transfer methods (e.g., AWS Transfer Family, Amazon S3 with pre-signed URLs). Limit external sharing to only authorized parties, and use auditing tools to track data access and sharing activities.
7. Use data protection tools for continuous monitoring: For large data sets stored in Amazon S3 or databases, use tools like Amazon Macie, which automatically identifies and classifies sensitive data such as PII. Macie provides ongoing monitoring to detect potential data security risks, such as data exposure or unencrypted sensitive data.

Supporting Questions:

• How do you apply different protection controls based on data classification levels?
• What encryption, access control, and monitoring mechanisms do you have in place to secure sensitive data?
• How do you ensure that data retention and disposal policies are enforced in line with legal and regulatory requirements?

Roles and Responsibilities:

Data Security Engineer:

• Responsibilities:
  • Implement encryption policies for sensitive data and manage encryption keys using AWS KMS.
  • Define and enforce access control policies for sensitive data using IAM and resource-based policies.
  • Set up monitoring and logging mechanisms to track access to sensitive data and respond to unauthorized access attempts.

Cloud Administrator:

• Responsibilities:
  • Ensure that data is encrypted both at rest and in transit according to its classification.
  • Use tools like Amazon Macie to monitor and classify data, ensuring that sensitive data is appropriately protected.
  • Configure automated workflows to ensure proper data retention and disposal according to company policies and regulatory requirements.

Artefacts:

• Data Protection Policy Documentation: Documentation outlining encryption, access control, and monitoring policies for each data classification level, detailing how sensitive data is protected.
• Access Control Logs and Reports: Logs and reports from AWS CloudTrail and IAM showing access attempts and actions taken on classified data.
• Data Retention and Disposal Policies: Policies detailing how data is retained, archived, and securely disposed of based on classification and regulatory requirements.

Relevant AWS Services:

AWS Data Security and Management Services:

• AWS Key Management Service (KMS): Manages encryption keys for data protection across AWS services. KMS allows you to define and enforce encryption policies for sensitive data stored in services like Amazon S3, RDS, and DynamoDB.
• Amazon Macie: Automatically identifies and classifies sensitive data, such as PII, and provides ongoing monitoring to detect potential data security risks.
• AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM): Enforces fine-grained access control policies to restrict access to sensitive data based on roles, permissions, and authentication factors.
• AWS CloudTrail: Logs all access attempts to AWS resources, providing an audit trail of who accessed classified data and when.

Data Retention and Disposal Services:

• AWS Config: Monitors and records configuration changes related to data protection controls, ensuring compliance with security and retention policies.
• Amazon S3 Object Lock: Enables write-once-read-many (WORM) storage to protect data from being deleted or altered during a defined retention period, ensuring data compliance with regulatory requirements.