Data Retention, Classification & Compliance

Data retention, classification, and compliance are key components of SecureCart's data governance strategy. They ensure that data is stored securely, classified correctly, and retained only as long as necessary to meet legal, regulatory, and operational requirements.

✔ Why is Data Retention, Classification & Compliance important for SecureCart?

• Prevents unauthorized access to sensitive customer data.

• Ensures compliance with industry regulations (PCI DSS, GDPR, HIPAA).

• Optimizes storage costs by managing data lifecycles effectively.

• Reduces risk of legal penalties by implementing proper data governance policies.

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🔹 Step 1: Understanding Data Classification

Data classification helps categorize data based on sensitivity and importance to enforce appropriate security controls. SecureCart uses Amazon Macie and AWS Tags to classify data automatically.

A. Data Classification Levels

Classification Level	Description	Example Data in SecureCart
Public Data	Data that can be accessed by anyone.	Product descriptions, FAQs.
Internal Data	Used within SecureCart but not exposed to customers.	System logs, application performance metrics.
Confidential Data	Restricted access, requires encryption.	Customer contact details, transaction history.
Highly Sensitive Data	Critical data requiring strongest security controls.	Credit card details, payment processing records.

✅ Best Practices: ✔ Classify data automatically using Amazon Macie. ✔ Tag sensitive data with AWS Resource Tags for security and compliance tracking. ✔ Apply appropriate access controls based on data classification.

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🔹 Step 2: Implementing Data Retention Policies

✔ Why? – Data retention ensures that SecureCart keeps data only as long as necessary while optimizing costs.

Data Type	Retention Policy	Storage Class
Order Logs	Archive after 30 days, delete after 1 year.	Amazon S3 Glacier.
Customer Data	Delete after 5 years (GDPR Compliance).	Amazon RDS with backup retention.
Security Logs	Retain for 1 year for auditing.	Amazon S3 Standard-IA.
Billing Records	Retain for 7 years for financial compliance.	Amazon S3 Intelligent-Tiering.

A. Automating Data Retention with AWS Services

SecureCart uses AWS S3 Lifecycle Policies, RDS backup retention, and DynamoDB TTL (Time-to-Live) to automate data retention.

AWS Service	Retention Strategy
Amazon S3 Lifecycle Rules	Moves logs to Glacier after 30 days, deletes after 1 year.
Amazon RDS Backup Retention	Keeps automated backups for 7 days, long-term backups in Glacier.
DynamoDB TTL	Automatically deletes expired session data.

✅ Best Practices: ✔ Use S3 Lifecycle Policies to automatically transition old data to low-cost storage. ✔ Apply DynamoDB TTL for temporary session data to free up storage. ✔ Ensure compliance with GDPR & PCI DSS by defining clear data retention policies.

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🔹 Step 3: Ensuring Data Compliance with AWS Governance Services

SecureCart follows legal and regulatory compliance frameworks by implementing AWS governance tools.

Regulatory Compliance	Requirement	AWS Service Used
PCI DSS (Payment Security)	Encrypt payment transactions.	AWS KMS, Amazon RDS Encryption.
GDPR (Data Privacy)	Retain customer data for a limited time.	Amazon S3 Lifecycle Policies, AWS Macie.
HIPAA (Healthcare Compliance)	Securely store medical-related records.	AWS Config, IAM Policies.
SOC 2 (Operational Security)	Monitor access logs for security events.	AWS CloudTrail, GuardDuty.

A. Automating Compliance Audits with AWS Services

✔ AWS Config – Continuously checks whether data storage complies with SecureCart’s policies. ✔ AWS Security Hub – Aggregates security findings across all AWS accounts. ✔ AWS CloudTrail – Logs all API activity for audit purposes.

✅ Best Practices: ✔ Enable AWS Config Rules to detect misconfigured data retention settings. ✔ Use AWS Security Hub to consolidate security and compliance alerts. ✔ Regularly audit CloudTrail logs for suspicious access patterns.

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🔹 Step 4: Implementing Secure Data Deletion & Compliance Management

✔ Why? – Ensures that data is securely deleted when retention periods expire while maintaining compliance.

Secure Deletion Method	Use Case in SecureCart
Amazon S3 Object Expiration	Automatically deletes old logs & temporary files.
AWS KMS Key Deletion	Removes encryption keys for data no longer needed.
RDS Snapshot Expiration	Deletes old database backups automatically.

✅ Best Practices: ✔ Configure S3 Expiration Policies to prevent unnecessary data storage. ✔ Use AWS Key Deletion for permanent data disposal. ✔ Implement IAM controls to restrict who can delete sensitive data.

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🔹 Step 5: Continuous Monitoring & Auditing for Compliance

✔ Why? – Ensures SecureCart meets compliance requirements and detects violations in real-time.

Monitoring Service	Purpose	Use Case in SecureCart
AWS CloudTrail	Tracks API access & changes.	Detects unauthorized attempts to modify data retention settings.
Amazon Macie	Scans for sensitive data exposure.	Identifies unencrypted credit card data in S3.
AWS Config	Checks compliance of storage settings.	Alerts if an S3 bucket is misconfigured for public access.
AWS Security Hub	Centralized compliance monitoring.	Tracks GDPR & PCI DSS violations.

✅ Best Practices: ✔ Enable CloudTrail to track all API and data access actions. ✔ Use AWS Config to automatically enforce compliance rules. ✔ Monitor sensitive data with Amazon Macie.

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🚀 Summary

✔ Classify all data using Amazon Macie and enforce IAM-based controls. ✔ Apply retention policies using S3 Lifecycle, RDS backups, and DynamoDB TTL. ✔ Follow GDPR, PCI DSS, and HIPAA compliance requirements using AWS governance tools. ✔ Implement secure data deletion with KMS key expiration and object lifecycle policies. ✔ Monitor compliance with AWS CloudTrail, Security Hub, and Config Rules.

Scenario:

SecureCart’s security team must identify and classify sensitive data while enforcing data retention policies.

Key Learning Objectives:

✅ Identify sensitive data using Amazon Macie ✅ Use AWS Config & Security Hub to monitor compliance ✅ Enforce data retention policies using IAM and lifecycle rules ✅ Align AWS technologies to meet compliance requirements

Hands-on Labs:

1️⃣ Enable Amazon Macie to Detect Sensitive Data in S3 2️⃣ Use AWS Config Rules to Enforce Data Governance Policies 3️⃣ Implement Data Retention Policies for Compliance

🔹 Outcome: SecureCart ensures data classification and compliance alignment.