Rule: DynamoDB Tables in Backup Plan
Ensure all DynamoDB tables are included in a backup plan to prevent data loss.
| Rule | DynamoDB tables should be in a backup plan |
| Framework | Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) |
| Severity | ✔ Medium |
DynamoDB Backup Compliance for FFIEC
Amazon DynamoDB is a fully managed NoSQL database service that supports key-value and document data structures. For financial institutions regulated by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC), it's crucial to ensure that data stored in DynamoDB tables is backed up consistently to meet compliance requirements. The FFIEC mandates that financial institutions establish a robust backup plan to prevent data loss and ensure business continuity.
Rule Description
The FFIEC requires that all DynamoDB tables that store financial data implement a backup plan that:
- Runs backups at least daily or as per the data criticality and recovery point objectives.
- Encrypts backup data both in transit and at rest.
- Retains backups for a defined period, typically seven years for compliance.
- Ensures backups are stored securely off-site or with a geo-redundancy strategy.
- Tests restoration procedures periodically to verify backup integrity.
Backup Strategy in DynamoDB
On-Demand Backup and Restore
On-Demand Backup allows you to create full backups of your DynamoDB tables for long-term retention and archival for regulatory compliance needs. These backups are consistent within seconds without any impact on table performance or availability.
Code for On-Demand Backup
aws dynamodb create-backup --table-name YourTableName --backup-name YourBackupName
Continuous Backups with Point-In-Time Recovery (PITR)
PITR provides continuous backups of your DynamoDB table data and you can restore to any point in time in the last 35 days.
Enable PITR using AWS CLI
aws dynamodb update-continuous-backups --table-name YourTableName --point-in-time-recovery-specification PointInTimeRecoveryEnabled=true
Remediation Steps
Step 1: Set Up Backup Plan
Determine the backup frequency according to your data criticality. Select a backup method (On-Demand or PITR).
Step 2: Configure Encryption
Ensure backup encryption is enabled by using AWS Key Management Service (KMS) to manage encryption keys.
Step 3: Define Retention Policy
Define the backup retention policy as per compliance requirements (e.g., seven years for FFIEC).
Step 4: Store Backups Securely
Ensure off-site or geo-redundancy by storing backups across multiple AWS regions or using AWS Backup service.
Step 5: Periodic Restoration Testing
Schedule and document periodic tests of the restoration process to verify the integrity of the backups.
Test Restore using AWS CLI
aws dynamodb restore-table-to-point-in-time --source-table-name YourTableName --target-table-name YourRestoredTableName --use-latest-restorable-time
Step 6: Monitoring and Alarms
Set up monitoring using Amazon CloudWatch and configure alarms for backup failures.
aws cloudwatch put-metric-alarm --alarm-name DynamoDBBackupFailure --metric-name BackupFailure --namespace AWS/DynamoDB --statistic Sum --period 300 --threshold 1 --comparison-operator GreaterThanOrEqualToThreshold --evaluation-periods 2 --alarm-actions arn:aws:sns:region:account-id:alert-topic
Conclusion
By following these detailed guidelines, financial institutions under the FFIEC's regulation can ensure their DynamoDB tables are backed up in compliance with the established rules. This effectively mitigates the risks of data loss, upholds data governance, and maintains the institution's reputation. Regular auditing and updating of the backup plan are essential to maintain compliance with evolving FFIEC standards.
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