Security Best Practices

Security is paramount when working with data infrastructure. This guide covers security best practices that apply to all Data Unit products.

Authentication & Access Control

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

Always enable MFA for all accounts:

# Enable MFA for admin account
dataunit auth enable-mfa --user=admin
 
# Verify MFA status
dataunit auth status

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

Implement the principle of least privilege:

• Admin Role: Full system access (limit to 2-3 users)
• Developer Role: Read/write access to development resources
• Analyst Role: Read-only access to production data
• Viewer Role: Dashboard viewing only

API Key Management

# Generate API key with specific permissions
dataunit api-key create --name="analytics-service" --permissions="read:data"
 
# Rotate keys regularly
dataunit api-key rotate --name="analytics-service"

Network Security

Firewall Configuration

# Allow only necessary ports
sudo ufw allow 22/tcp   # SSH
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp  # HTTPS
sudo ufw allow from 10.0.0.0/8 to any port 5432  # PostgreSQL from internal
 
# Enable firewall
sudo ufw enable

VPN Access

For administrative access, always use VPN:

1. Configure site-to-site VPN for production
2. Use client VPN for remote access
3. Implement IP allowlisting

Data Encryption

Encryption at Rest

All Data Unit products encrypt data by default:

# config.yaml
encryption:
  at_rest:
    enabled: true
    algorithm: AES-256-GCM
    key_rotation: 90d

Encryption in Transit

• TLS 1.3 for all API communications
• Certificate pinning for mobile apps
• Mutual TLS for service-to-service

Compliance

GDPR Compliance

• Data minimization
• Right to deletion
• Data portability
• Consent management

HIPAA Compliance

When handling healthcare data:

1. Enable audit logging
2. Implement access controls
3. Encrypt PHI data
4. Sign BAA with Data Unit

SOC 2 Requirements

• Continuous monitoring
• Change management
• Incident response
• Vulnerability management

Security Monitoring

Audit Logging

# Enable comprehensive audit logging
dataunit config set audit.enabled=true
dataunit config set audit.level=verbose
 
# View audit logs
dataunit audit logs --last=24h

Alerts Configuration

# alerts.yaml
alerts:
  - name: failed_login_attempts
    condition: failed_logins > 5
    window: 5m
    action: email,slack
    
  - name: unusual_data_access
    condition: data_access_volume > 2x_baseline
    window: 1h
    action: email,pagerduty

Incident Response

Preparation Checklist

• [ ] Incident response plan documented
• [ ] Contact list updated
• [ ] Backup restoration tested
• [ ] Security patches current

Response Steps

1. Detect: Monitor alerts and anomalies
2. Contain: Isolate affected systems
3. Investigate: Determine scope and impact
4. Remediate: Fix vulnerabilities
5. Report: Document lessons learned

Best Practices Summary

1. Always use MFA for all user accounts
2. Encrypt everything - data at rest and in transit
3. Monitor continuously with alerts and logging
4. Update regularly - patches and security updates
5. Test backups monthly
6. Review access quarterly
7. Train users on security awareness

Security Resources

• Security hotline: +1-800-SEC-DATA
• Email: security@dataunit.com
• Bug bounty: security.dataunit.com/bounty
• Status page: status.dataunit.com