Case Study: Proactive Monitoring System for Payment Pages with AWS Lambda

ABOUT: XYZ is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing maternal and infant health. As a 501(c)(3) charity, XYZ relies on donations to fund its mission. To process donations securely, XYZ must adhere to PCI DSS compliance requirements, ensuring the protection of sensitive cardholder data.

CHALLENGE: PCI DSS compliance mandates the protection of web pages where customers enter their cardholder data. These pages are vulnerable to malicious attacks aiming to intercept payment information. Compliance requires active monitoring to detect unauthorized changes promptly, minimizing the risk of data breaches.

SOLUTION: Digital Edge implemented a custom file integrity monitoring (FIM) system using AWS Lambda, DynamoDB, and SNS. This solution actively monitors payment pages, compares file hashes against baseline values, and alerts relevant personnel in case of unauthorized modifications.

SOLUTION COMPONENTS:

1. AWS Lambda Function: Executes scheduled checks without managing servers.
2. Amazon DynamoDB: Stores expected file hashes securely.
3. Amazon SNS: Swiftly notifies personnel about security issues.

SOLUTION WORKFLOW:

1. Baseline Establishment: Identifies critical files, generates MD5 hashes, and stores them in DynamoDB.
2. Periodic Scans: Lambda function runs scans at required frequencies.
3. Hash Comparison: Compares retrieved hashes with baseline hashes.
4. Discrepancy Detection & Alerting: Triggers alerts via SNS for potential unauthorized modifications.

VALUE-ADDED BENEFITS:

1. Enhanced Security: Proactive monitoring detects and responds to unauthorized changes, minimizing the risk of data breaches and financial losses.
2. Regulatory Compliance: Ensures compliance with PCI DSS requirements, maintaining trust and credibility.
3. Operational Efficiency: Scalable and cost-effective solution automates security monitoring, freeing up resources for mission-critical tasks.
4. Timely Incident Response: Real-time alerting facilitates immediate investigation and remediation, minimizing disruptions to donation processing operations.

BUSINESS BENEFIT: Overall, the proactive monitoring solution strengthens XYZ's security defenses, reinforces its commitment to data protection, and supports its mission of improving maternal and infant health through secure donation processing channels.