AWS Financial Records Protection

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

unencrypted sensitive data

PCI-DSS

aws

Why It Matters

The core goal is to proactively secure every location where financial records are stored within your AWS environment, preventing unauthorized access and ensuring regulatory compliance before exposures become breaches. Implementing robust protection for financial data in AWS is critical for organizations subject to PCI-DSS requirements, as it helps establish comprehensive security controls and demonstrates due diligence in safeguarding sensitive payment information.

Primary Risk: Unencrypted sensitive data exposure

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

A comprehensive protection strategy delivers proactive security controls, automated policy enforcement, and continuous compliance monitoring.

Prerequisites

Permissions & Roles

  • AWS IAM admin or equivalent privileges
  • S3, KMS, CloudTrail, and Config permissions
  • Ability to create and modify security groups

External Tools

  • AWS CLI or Terraform
  • Cyera DSPM account
  • API credentials

Prior Setup

  • AWS account with appropriate regions
  • VPC and subnets configured
  • AWS Config enabled
  • CloudTrail logging active

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 machine learning algorithms, including Named Entity Recognition (NER) and pattern matching, Cyera automatically identifies financial records across your AWS infrastructure and applies intelligent security policies to prevent unauthorized exposure while maintaining PCI-DSS compliance.

Step-by-Step Guide

1
Configure AWS security fundamentals

Enable AWS Config, CloudTrail, and GuardDuty across all regions. Set up KMS keys for encryption and establish IAM policies with least privilege access for financial data handling.

aws kms create-key --description "Financial Records Encryption Key"

2
Deploy Cyera DSPM protection

In the Cyera portal, navigate to Integrations → AWS → Add Connection. Provide your AWS account details and configure automated scanning to identify financial records across S3, RDS, and other AWS services.

3
Implement encryption and access controls

Apply server-side encryption to all S3 buckets containing financial data, configure bucket policies to restrict access, and set up VPC endpoints for secure data transfer without internet exposure.

4
Enable continuous monitoring and alerting

Configure Cyera's real-time monitoring to detect policy violations, unauthorized access attempts, and configuration drift. Set up automated remediation workflows and integrate alerts with your security operations center.

Architecture & Workflow

AWS Native Security

KMS encryption, IAM policies, and VPC isolation

Cyera AI Engine

Discovers and classifies financial records using NER

Policy Enforcement

Automated security controls and compliance monitoring

Continuous Protection

Real-time alerts and automated remediation

Protection Flow Summary

Discover Data → Apply Encryption → Enforce Policies → Monitor Continuously

Best Practices & Tips

Encryption Strategy

  • Use customer-managed KMS keys for financial data
  • Enable encryption in transit and at rest
  • Implement key rotation policies

Access Control

  • Apply principle of least privilege
  • Use IAM roles instead of long-term credentials
  • Implement multi-factor authentication

Common Pitfalls

  • Forgetting to encrypt database snapshots
  • Over-permissive S3 bucket policies
  • Neglecting cross-region replication security

References & Further Reading

Next Steps

🔍 Detect: Scan for existing financial records exposures 🔧 Fix: Remediate discovered financial data exposures