AWS Financial Records Exposure Remediation

Learn how to fix exposure of financial records in AWS environments. Follow step-by-step guidance for PCI-DSS compliance and secure remediation.

data exposure

PCI-DSS

aws

Why It Matters

The core goal is to quickly remediate exposed financial records across your AWS infrastructure, preventing unauthorized access and potential regulatory violations. Fixing financial data exposure in AWS is critical for organizations subject to PCI-DSS requirements, as it helps you immediately secure sensitive payment data and financial information—eliminating the risk of unrestricted public access and potential data breaches.

Primary Risk: Data exposure of sensitive financial information

Relevant Regulation: PCI-DSS Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard

Swift remediation delivers immediate security improvements, ensuring compliance with financial data protection requirements and preventing costly regulatory penalties.

Prerequisites

Permissions & Roles

  • AWS IAM admin or security role
  • S3:GetBucketPolicy, S3:PutBucketPolicy privileges
  • CloudTrail and Config service access

External Tools

  • AWS CLI configured
  • Cyera DSPM account
  • Security incident response playbook

Prior Setup

  • AWS Security Hub enabled
  • CloudTrail logging active
  • Backup systems verified
  • Stakeholder notification plan

Introducing Cyera

Cyera is a modern Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) platform that discovers, classifies, and continuously monitors your sensitive data across cloud services. Using advanced AI-powered Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Named Entity Recognition (NER), Cyera automatically identifies financial records, payment card data, and financial documents in AWS, providing instant remediation workflows to secure exposed assets and maintain PCI-DSS compliance.

Step-by-Step Guide

1
Assess and prioritize exposures

Review all identified financial record exposures in the Cyera dashboard, prioritizing by risk score and compliance impact. Focus on publicly accessible S3 buckets and overly permissive IAM policies first.

aws s3api get-bucket-policy --bucket your-financial-bucket

2
Implement immediate containment

Block public access to exposed financial data immediately using S3 Block Public Access settings. Update bucket policies to restrict access to authorized personnel only.

aws s3api put-public-access-block --bucket your-bucket --public-access-block-configuration BlockPublicAcls=true,IgnorePublicAcls=true,BlockPublicPolicy=true,RestrictPublicBuckets=true

3
Apply encryption and access controls

Enable server-side encryption for all financial data at rest. Implement least-privilege IAM policies and enable MFA for sensitive resource access. Use AWS KMS for key management.

4
Monitor and validate remediation

Verify that all access controls are properly applied using AWS Config rules and Security Hub findings. Set up continuous monitoring with Cyera to prevent future exposures and maintain compliance.

Architecture & Workflow

AWS Security Hub

Centralized security findings and compliance status

Cyera Remediation Engine

Automated workflows for securing financial data

AWS IAM & KMS

Access controls and encryption key management

Monitoring & Alerting

CloudTrail logs and real-time notifications

Remediation Flow Summary

Identify Exposures → Contain Access → Apply Controls → Validate & Monitor

Best Practices & Tips

Incident Response

  • Document all remediation actions taken
  • Notify stakeholders and compliance teams
  • Preserve logs for forensic analysis

Access Control Hardening

  • Implement time-based access policies
  • Use condition-based IAM policies
  • Enable AWS CloudTrail for all API calls

Common Pitfalls

  • Forgetting to update application dependencies
  • Over-restricting access and breaking workflows
  • Not testing backup and recovery procedures

References & Further Reading

Next Steps

🛡️ Prevent: Set up proactive financial records protection 🔍 Detect: Implement continuous financial data monitoring