Retention Policies & Legal Hold

1. Introduction

In the context of data engineering on AWS, understanding retention policies and legal holds is crucial for compliance and data management strategies. This lesson delves into the definitions, processes, and best practices associated with retention policies and legal holds.

2. Key Concepts

3. Retention Policies

Retention policies are essential for managing data lifecycle and ensuring compliance with regulations. Here’s a step-by-step process for implementing retention policies in AWS:

1. Identify the data types and their compliance requirements.
2. Define the retention schedule based on business needs and legal requirements.
3. Implement the policy using AWS services like S3 Lifecycle policies.
4. Monitor and audit compliance with the retention policy.

Example: S3 Lifecycle Policy

{
    "Rules": [
        {
            "ID": "MoveToGlacier",
            "Status": "Enabled",
            "Prefix": "logs/",
            "Transitions": [
                {
                    "Days": 30,
                    "StorageClass": "GLACIER"
                }
            ],
            "Expiration": {
                "Days": 365
            }
        }
    ]
}

4. Legal Hold

A legal hold is activated when a legal investigation is pending, requiring the preservation of certain data. The following steps outline the legal hold process:

1. Identify the scope of data that needs to be preserved.
2. Implement a hold on data using AWS services like S3 or RDS.
3. Communicate the legal hold to all relevant stakeholders.
4. Regularly review and update the legal hold status.

Example: Implementing a Legal Hold

aws s3api put-object-retention --bucket my-bucket --key logs/sample.log --retention '{
    "Mode": "GOVERNANCE",
    "RetainUntilDate": "2024-12-31T00:00:00Z"
}'

5. Best Practices

• Regularly review retention policies to ensure they comply with current laws.
• Automate the enforcement of retention policies using AWS services.
• Train personnel on the importance of legal holds and compliance.
• Maintain clear documentation of retention policies and legal hold processes.

6. FAQ