PII & Data Protection in AWS Serverless

Introduction

In the age of data-driven applications, understanding how to protect Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is crucial. This lesson will explore PII and data protection strategies specifically in the context of AWS Serverless architectures.

Key Concepts

What is PII?

Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is any data that could potentially be used to identify a specific individual. Examples include:

Name
Social Security Number
Email Address
Phone Number

Data Protection Regulations

Several regulations govern the use of PII, including:

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)
CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act)
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)

AWS Services for Data Protection

AWS Lambda

AWS Lambda allows you to run code without provisioning servers and can be configured to handle PII securely.

Note: Ensure that your Lambda function has the minimum necessary permissions.

AWS IAM

Identity and Access Management (IAM) is crucial for controlling access to AWS services and resources that handle PII.

AWS KMS

AWS Key Management Service (KMS) helps you create and control encryption keys used to encrypt your data.


const AWS = require('aws-sdk');
const kms = new AWS.KMS();

async function encryptData(data) {
    const params = {
        KeyId: 'alias/my-key',
        Plaintext: data
    };
    const result = await kms.encrypt(params).promise();
    return result.CiphertextBlob.toString('base64');
}

Best Practices for PII Protection

Implement encryption at rest and in transit.
Use IAM roles to restrict access to PII.
Regularly audit and monitor access to PII data.
Ensure compliance with applicable regulations.

FAQ

What is the difference between PII and sensitive PII?

PII is any data that can identify an individual, while sensitive PII includes information that can cause harm or distress if disclosed, such as Social Security numbers or financial account details.

How can I ensure compliance with GDPR?

To ensure compliance with GDPR, you must implement data protection by design and by default, conduct Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs), and ensure the right to access and deletion of user data.