Snowflake PCI Data Prevention

Learn how to prevent exposure of PCI data in Snowflake environments. Follow step-by-step guidance for PCI-DSS compliance.

unencrypted sensitive data

PCI-DSS

snowflake

Why It Matters

The core goal is to implement proactive security controls that prevent PCI data from being exposed in your Snowflake environment before vulnerabilities can be exploited. Preventing PCI data exposure in Snowflake is critical for organizations subject to PCI-DSS requirements, as it helps you maintain cardholder data protection through encryption, access controls, and data masking—eliminating the risk of unauthorized access to payment information.

Primary Risk: Unencrypted sensitive data exposure

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

Comprehensive prevention measures deliver continuous protection, ensuring cardholder data remains secure and compliant throughout its lifecycle.

Prerequisites

Permissions & Roles

  • Snowflake ACCOUNTADMIN or SECURITYADMIN role
  • USAGE privileges on databases and schemas
  • CREATE MASKING POLICY and CREATE ROW ACCESS POLICY privileges

External Tools

  • Snowflake CLI or SnowSQL
  • Cyera DSPM account
  • API credentials

Prior Setup

  • Snowflake account provisioned
  • Network policies configured
  • SSL/TLS encryption enabled
  • Customer-managed encryption keys (optional)

Introducing Cyera

Cyera is a modern Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) platform that uses advanced AI and Named Entity Recognition (NER) to automatically discover, classify, and protect sensitive data across cloud services. By leveraging machine learning models trained on PCI data patterns, Cyera proactively identifies cardholder data in Snowflake and automatically applies appropriate security policies, ensuring continuous PCI-DSS compliance without manual intervention.

Step-by-Step Guide

1
Configure encryption and network security

Enable customer-managed encryption keys (CMEK) for enhanced control and configure network policies to restrict access to authorized IP ranges only.

ALTER ACCOUNT SET ENCRYPTION_KEY_ROTATION = TRUE;

2
Implement data masking policies

In the Cyera portal, configure AI-powered classification rules to identify PCI data patterns. Create dynamic data masking policies in Snowflake to automatically obfuscate credit card numbers, CVV codes, and cardholder names based on user roles.

Set up row-level security

Configure row access policies to ensure users can only access PCI data relevant to their business function. Implement attribute-based access controls (ABAC) that consider user department, clearance level, and data sensitivity.

4
Enable continuous monitoring

Deploy Cyera's real-time monitoring to detect policy violations, unauthorized access attempts, or configuration drift. Set up automated alerts for any changes to PCI data tables or security policies.

Architecture & Workflow

Snowflake Security Layer

Encryption, masking policies, and access controls

Cyera AI Engine

NER models for PCI data classification and policy automation

Policy Enforcement

Dynamic masking and row-level security

Monitoring & Compliance

Real-time alerts and compliance reporting

Data Flow Summary

Data Ingestion → AI Classification → Policy Application → Access Control

Best Practices & Tips

Encryption Best Practices

  • Use customer-managed keys for sensitive environments
  • Enable automatic key rotation
  • Implement encryption at column level for PCI fields

Access Control Strategy

  • Follow principle of least privilege
  • Implement role-based masking policies
  • Regular access reviews and certifications

Common Pitfalls

  • Forgetting to mask PCI data in development environments
  • Over-privileged service accounts
  • Inadequate logging of data access events

References & Further Reading

Next Steps

🔍 Detect: Scan for existing PCI data exposures 🔧 Fix: Remediate identified PCI data risks