Security Foundation & Compliance

A comprehensive security architecture covering vulnerability management, network segmentation, data protection, and continuous monitoring for PCI-compliant blockchain applications in AWS.
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Vulnerability Management Framework

Comprehensive vulnerability assessment and remediation aligned with PCI Requirements 6 and 11.

Continuous Scanning

Deploy AWS Inspector for EC2 instances, ECR images, and Lambda functions. Quarterly internal and external scans required per Req. 11.3.

Container Security

Enforce image scanning in CI/CD pipelines using Sysdig, Prisma, Aqua, or Trivy. Block deployments with high/critical vulnerabilities before production.

Patch Management

Apply critical patches within 30 days. Automate EC2 patching via Systems Manager and orchestrate EKS node upgrades with zero-downtime strategies.

Baseline Enforcement

Apply CIS Benchmarks for Amazon Linux/Ubuntu and EKS. Detect configuration drift continuously using AWS Config and Security Hub.

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Perimeter Security Architecture

Firewall Controls (PCI Req. 1)

Deploy AWS Network Firewall for VPC ingress/egress filtering. Configure Security Groups for stateful traffic control and NACLs for stateless filtering. Implement explicit deny-all policies with allowlist exceptions.

WAF Protection

Enable AWS WAF on ALB and API Gateway with OWASP Top 10 managed rules. Apply custom rate limiting for blockchain RPC endpoints to prevent enumeration attacks.

Secure Access
  • No public admin interfaces
  • AWS SSO with MFA enforcement
  • VPN or DirectConnect required
  • SSM Session Manager for shell access
  • Hardened bastion hosts in DMZ
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Network Segmentation Strategy

Zero-trust architecture with strict CDE isolation per PCI Requirements 1, 2, and 4.

Dedicated PCI VPC

Isolated VPC for Cardholder Data Environment with no direct internet gateway. Segmented from non-PCI services, logging infrastructure, and developer networks.

Encryption Enforcement

Mandate TLS 1.2+ end-to-end. Implement mTLS for blockchain node-to-node communication. All workloads deployed in private subnets with NAT gateway egress only.

Micro-Segmentation

Deploy Kubernetes Network Policies to restrict pod-to-pod traffic. Leverage service mesh (Istio/App Mesh) for identity-based routing, mTLS, and policy enforcement.

Traffic Monitoring

Enable VPC Flow Logs, GuardDuty, and Network Firewall inspection. Alert on anomalies including port scanning, unusual API calls, and lateral movement attempts.

Endpoint Security Controls

EC2 Hardening (PCI Req. 5)

  • Enforce IMDSv2 for metadata access
  • Disable root and password login
  • Deploy EDR (CrowdStrike, SentinelOne)
  • File Integrity Monitoring via AWS SSM FIM or Wazuh
  • IAM roles only—no long-term credentials

Container Runtime Protection

Enforce security contexts on all pods:

  • Non-root user execution
  • Read-only root filesystem
  • Drop all unnecessary Linux capabilities
  • No privileged containers permitted
  • Runtime monitoring with Falco or Sysdig

EKS Node Security

Use Bottlerocket or hardened EKS-Optimized AMIs. Disable SSH access—rely exclusively on SSM Session Manager. Apply kernel security patches within defined SLA windows.
Admission controllers (Kyverno/OPA) automatically reject non-compliant deployments at the API server level.

Data Protection Requirements

Comprehensive encryption and tokenization strategy aligned with PCI Requirements 3 and 4.

Data at Rest Encryption

All storage encrypted with AES-256 via AWS KMS: S3 buckets, RDS/Aurora databases, DynamoDB tables, EBS volumes, EKS secrets, and EFS file systems. Automated key rotation policies enforced.

Blockchain Data Handling

Never store PAN or sensitive cardholder data immutably on-chain. Implement tokenization before any blockchain writes. Cryptographic keys must remain independent from blockchain node infrastructure.

Data in Transit

Mandatory TLS 1.2+ for all external traffic. mTLS recommended for inter-service and blockchain node communication. Certificate lifecycle managed via ACM and ACM Private CA.

Tokenization Strategy

Mask cardholder data in all UI displays. Tokenize PAN before storage in any system. Leverage AWS Payment Cryptography service for cryptographic operations and key management.

Penetration Testing & Validation

Annual Testing Requirements (PCI 11.4)

Comprehensive penetration testing must cover external endpoints, internal VPC/CDE networks, EKS API servers, microservices architecture, smart contracts, blockchain nodes, and segmentation validation.

Engage qualified third-party penetration testers with blockchain and Kubernetes expertise. Remediate findings based on risk severity within documented timeframes.

Mandatory Testing Triggers

  • Network architecture modifications
  • Significant EKS infrastructure changes
  • New blockchain node deployments
  • Major application feature releases
  • Segmentation control updates
After-major-change testing ensures controls remain effective through the development lifecycle.

Comprehensive Monitoring Architecture

Network Monitoring

VPC Flow Logs, CloudTrail, GuardDuty, and Network Firewall alerts detect lateral movement, suspicious DNS lookups, and anomalous outbound traffic patterns. Machine learning baselines identify deviations.

Application Telemetry

CloudWatch, OpenTelemetry, Prometheus, and Grafana monitor performance metrics, blockchain transaction throughput, node health, chain synchronization status, and API latency distributions.

EKS Observability

Enable control plane logs, audit logs, pod logs, and metrics server. Implement distributed tracing with OpenTelemetry to track request flows across microservices and blockchain components.

Logging & SIEM Integration

Comprehensive encryption and tokenization strategy aligned with PCI Requirements 3 and 4.

Log Collection Pipeline

Aggregate all logs from applications, EKS, EC2, network devices, security tools, WAF, and GuardDuty into CloudWatch Logs. Stream to Kinesis for real-time processing and archive to S3 with Object Lock for immutability.

Retention & Compliance

  • Minimum 1-year retention (PCI mandate)
  • Tamper-resistant storage with versioning
  • Automated lifecycle policies
  • Centralized correlation and indexing

SIEM Integration

Forward logs to enterprise SIEM (Splunk, QRadar, Elastic, Chronicle) for advanced threat detection, behavioral analytics, and compliance reporting.

Real-Time Alerting

Configure alerts for:

  • Authentication failures and brute-force attempts
  • Network anomalies and port scans
  • Unauthorized access attempts
  • Resource exhaustion events
  • Blockchain node desynchronization

GRC Program & Continuous Compliance

Governance, risk, and compliance framework ensuring sustained PCI-DSS v4.0 adherence.

01

Governance Structure

Documented information security policies (12.1). Defined roles, segregation of duties, and executive oversight of PCI program with monthly security council reviews.

02

Risk Management

Annual enterprise risk assessments including blockchain and cloud threat models. Maintain documented risk register with tiered prioritization and treatment plans.

03

Compliance Automation

Quarterly access reviews (Req. 7, 8). Maintain AWS AOC and vendor attestations. Annual QSA certification. Continuous compliance validation via AWS Config and Security Hub.

04

Incident Response

Formal IR plan with escalation workflows, forensic procedures, EKS/blockchain restore playbooks, and immutable evidence retention for investigations.

05

Change Control

CCB-approved changes only. IaC versioning with approval gates. Mandatory security testing before production deployments with rollback procedures.