Snowflake Customer Data Exposure Remediation

Learn how to fix customer data exposures in Snowflake environments. Follow step-by-step guidance for GDPR compliance and data breach remediation.

data exposure

GDPR

snowflake

Why It Matters

The core goal is to rapidly remediate any exposed customer data within your Snowflake environment, ensuring compliance with data protection regulations and preventing potential breaches. Fixing customer data exposures in Snowflake is critical for organizations subject to GDPR, as it helps you demonstrate proper incident response and data protection measures—mitigating the risk of regulatory penalties and reputational damage.

Primary Risk: Data exposure leading to regulatory violations and customer trust loss

Relevant Regulation: GDPR General Data Protection Regulation

Swift remediation ensures compliance with GDPR's 72-hour breach notification requirements and demonstrates your commitment to protecting customer privacy rights.

Prerequisites

Permissions & Roles

  • Snowflake ACCOUNTADMIN or SECURITYADMIN role
  • GRANT/REVOKE privileges on affected objects
  • Access to system usage views (INFORMATION_SCHEMA)

External Tools

  • Snowflake CLI or SnowSQL
  • Cyera DSPM platform
  • SIEM/logging system integration

Prior Setup

  • Snowflake account with proper governance
  • Data classification completed
  • Incident response plan activated
  • Stakeholder notification process ready

Introducing Cyera

Cyera is a modern Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) platform that uses advanced AI-powered named entity recognition (NER) and machine learning models to automatically identify, classify, and track sensitive customer data across your Snowflake environment. By leveraging natural language processing and pattern recognition, Cyera can rapidly pinpoint exposed customer records, assess the scope of exposure, and provide actionable remediation guidance to ensure swift compliance with GDPR requirements.

Step-by-Step Guide

1
Assess the scope of exposure

Use Cyera's incident dashboard to identify all tables, views, and shares containing exposed customer data. Document the extent of exposure and affected data subjects for GDPR compliance reporting.

SELECT * FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLE_PRIVILEGES WHERE GRANTEE = 'PUBLIC';

2
Implement immediate containment

Revoke public access and overly permissive grants immediately. Create temporary restricted access policies while maintaining business continuity for authorized users.

REVOKE SELECT ON TABLE customer_data FROM ROLE PUBLIC;
CREATE OR REPLACE ROW ACCESS POLICY customer_data_policy AS (user_role) RETURNS BOOLEAN ->
CURRENT_ROLE() IN ('CUSTOMER_DATA_ANALYST', 'CUSTOMER_SERVICE_MANAGER');

3
Apply data masking and anonymization

Implement dynamic data masking policies on exposed customer fields. Use Snowflake's masking functions to protect PII while preserving data utility for analytics.

CREATE OR REPLACE MASKING POLICY customer_email_mask AS (val string) RETURNS string ->
CASE WHEN CURRENT_ROLE() IN ('DATA_PRIVACY_OFFICER') THEN val
ELSE REGEXP_REPLACE(val, '.+@', '*****@') END;

4
Monitor and validate remediation

Use Cyera's continuous monitoring to verify that access has been properly restricted and no new exposures have occurred. Generate compliance reports for regulatory authorities and stakeholders.

SELECT * FROM SNOWFLAKE.ACCOUNT_USAGE.ACCESS_HISTORY
WHERE OBJECTS_ACCESSED[0].objectName = 'CUSTOMER_DATA'
AND QUERY_START_TIME >= CURRENT_TIMESTAMP - INTERVAL '24 HOURS';

Architecture & Workflow

Snowflake Security Layer

Role-based access control and governance policies

Cyera AI Engine

NER-powered detection and risk assessment

Masking & Encryption

Dynamic data protection and anonymization

Compliance Dashboard

GDPR reporting and audit trails

Remediation Flow Summary

Detect Exposure → Contain Access → Apply Masking → Validate & Monitor

Best Practices & Tips

Incident Response

  • Document all remediation steps for audit trail
  • Notify stakeholders within required timeframes
  • Preserve forensic evidence for investigation

Access Control Recovery

  • Implement least-privilege access principles
  • Use temporary elevated permissions judiciously
  • Review and update role hierarchies regularly

Common Pitfalls

  • Failing to check shared databases and secure views
  • Over-restricting access and breaking business processes
  • Not documenting changes for compliance reporting

References & Further Reading

Next Steps

🛡️ Prevent: Implement preventive controls for customer data 🔍 Detect: Set up monitoring for customer data exposures