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A guide to building a secure and compliant cloud-based data lake

A cloud-based data lake is a valuable tool for storing and analyzing large datasets. However, it presents unique security challenges that must be addressed to ensure compliance with government regulations. In this guide, we will discuss the best practices for building a secure and compliant cloud-based data lake.

Planning the Data Lake

Before starting to build a data lake, it is critical to create a plan that takes into account the security and compliance requirements of your organization. Start with creating a framework that adheres to industry standards such as the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

It is important to choose the right cloud provider, one with proven experience in delivering secure solutions that can meet these compliance regulations. Some of the most popular cloud providers include Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform.

Also, define clear access controls for users, roles, and permissions. This includes your internal team members as well as external vendors or partners who may require access at times.

Building the Data Lake

When building a data lake, encryption and access controls must be implemented by design in all stages of data movement to, within, and from the data lake. Ingestion processes should encrypt data during transit and rest where possible. Use best practices like transport layer security protocols on your ingestion client or network protocols, such as secure file transfer protocol (SFTP), or a managed Apache Kafka service.

Ingestion clients or applications that copy data from different systems should employ access policies based on the principle of least privilege: grant only those permissions necessary to copy relevant information from an external source.

On storage fronts, select platforms that support encryption at rest or provide other advanced cryptography functions like key management, including server-side encryption with customer-owned keys (CMKs).

Strict control over access to the data is key, and solutions like AWS Identity and Access Management or Azure Active Directory provide an effective means for controlling permissions at both the object-level and management plane.

Monitoring and Managing the Data Lake

Accurate monitoring of your data lake infrastructure helps to identify security gaps or suspicious activities that happen within your data lake. Implement logging of all data lake-related activity by storing the data logs in a separate audit account to prevent deletion or tampering by attackers. This will quickly detect suspicious activity, such as port scanning, DDos attacks, brute force attacks, or network-based attacks.

Use a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solution such included in AWS CloudTrail or Azure Monitor to centralize logging, automate alerting, and perform advanced analytics.

Also, ensure that regular patching of the critical components is made. Regular updates of software packages for underlying systems like operating systems, databases, web servers, or third-party libraries should be a part of your support model to ensure that known vulnerabilities are remediated by qualified IT support teams.

Keeping up with the Changing Threat Landscape

Maintaining sustained vigilance is a key requirement for maintaining secure and compliant cloud-based data lakes. Due to an ever-evolving security landscape, cloud security controls must adapt to new threats quickly.

If you are seeking compliance with specific regulations governing data storage - take measures to maintain these compliance requirements through compliance audits and regular reports generated from respective services.

Conclusion

Implementing a cloud-based data lake offers significant advantages but also comes with an increased burden when it comes to security and compliance. But following industry best practices such as encryption at rest and on transit, managing access controls at a high-level via Identity and Access Management (IAM), monitoring your implementation via advanced logging and employing ongoing patching will help you build a secure and compliant cloud-based data lake.

In concert with maintaining appropriate cloud migration and governance controls, your organization can leverage the full advantage of cloud-based services whilst maintaining compliance and security.

References

  1. Guide to using AWS EBS encryption
  2. Microsoft - HIPAA overview
  3. What is SIEM?
  4. AWS - Data ingestion methods
  5. HIPAA Security Rule Standards and Implementation Specifications