Snowflake Financial Records Exposure Remediation

Learn how to fix exposed financial records in Snowflake environments. Follow step-by-step guidance for PCI-DSS compliance and data protection.

data exposure

PCI-DSS

snowflake

Why It Matters

The core goal is to identify and remediate every location where financial records are improperly exposed within your Snowflake environment, ensuring sensitive financial data is protected from unauthorized access. Fixing financial record exposures in Snowflake is critical for organizations subject to PCI-DSS requirements, as it helps prevent data breaches that could result in significant fines and reputational damage.

Primary Risk: Data exposure of sensitive financial information

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

Systematic remediation of financial data exposures provides immediate risk reduction and establishes the foundation for ongoing compliance monitoring and data governance.

Prerequisites

Permissions & Roles

  • Snowflake ACCOUNTADMIN or SECURITYADMIN role
  • MODIFY privileges on affected databases and schemas
  • OWNERSHIP or USAGE privileges on target tables

External Tools

  • Snowflake Web UI or SnowSQL CLI
  • Cyera DSPM account
  • API credentials for automation

Prior Setup

  • Snowflake account provisioned
  • Financial data discovery completed
  • Exposure assessment report available
  • Change management process defined

Introducing Cyera

Cyera is a modern Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) platform that discovers, classifies, and continuously monitors your sensitive data across cloud services. By leveraging advanced AI and Natural Language Processing (NER) models, Cyera automatically identifies financial records in Snowflake and provides intelligent remediation recommendations, ensuring you can quickly address exposures while maintaining PCI-DSS compliance requirements in real time.

Step-by-Step Guide

1
Review exposure findings and prioritize remediation

Access your Cyera dashboard to review identified financial record exposures. Prioritize fixes based on risk severity, data volume, and regulatory impact.

-- Review tables with financial data exposures SELECT table_name, exposure_type, risk_level FROM cyera_findings WHERE data_type = 'financial_records';

2
Implement dynamic data masking for financial fields

Create masking policies for sensitive financial columns using Snowflake's Dynamic Data Masking feature. Apply different masking rules based on user roles and access requirements.

-- Create masking policy for financial data CREATE OR REPLACE MASKING POLICY financial_mask AS (val string) RETURNS string -> CASE WHEN current_role() IN ('FINANCE_ADMIN', 'COMPLIANCE_OFFICER') THEN val ELSE '*--' || RIGHT(val, 4) END;

3
Apply row-level security controls

Implement row access policies to restrict access to financial records based on user attributes, departments, or business needs. Configure policies to ensure only authorized users can view complete financial data.

-- Create row access policy for financial records CREATE OR REPLACE ROW ACCESS POLICY financial_row_policy AS (department string) RETURNS boolean -> current_role() IN ('FINANCE_ADMIN') OR department = current_user();

4
Validate remediation and monitor ongoing compliance

Test access controls with different user roles to ensure proper enforcement. Set up continuous monitoring through Cyera to detect any new exposures and validate that remediation measures remain effective.

Architecture & Workflow

Snowflake Information Schema

Source of metadata and access control information

Cyera AI Engine

Identifies exposures and recommends remediation actions

Dynamic Data Masking

Real-time protection of sensitive financial fields

Continuous Monitoring

Ongoing validation and compliance reporting

Remediation Flow Summary

Identify Exposures → Apply Controls → Validate Access → Monitor Compliance

Best Practices & Tips

Remediation Strategy

  • Start with highest-risk exposures first
  • Test masking policies in development environments
  • Coordinate with business stakeholders on access needs

Access Control Design

  • Use principle of least privilege
  • Implement role-based access patterns
  • Regular access reviews and cleanup

Common Pitfalls

  • Over-masking data needed for legitimate business use
  • Forgetting to apply policies to new tables
  • Not testing remediation with actual user accounts

References & Further Reading

Next Steps

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