Securing a Manufacturing Industry's ERP Solution on AWS

Company : ERPONE

Developed a secure and scalable architecture for a manufacturing industry’s ERP solution hosted on AWS, ensuring data integrity, compliance, and seamless operations for critical services like CRM, HRMS, and Payroll.

Problem Statement/Definition

The client’s ERP solution, integral to managing CRM, HRMS, Payroll, and other business processes, required a robust security framework to protect sensitive business and employee data. Challenges included safeguarding data across multiple services, maintaining compliance, and ensuring uninterrupted access to the platform.

Proposed Solution & Architecture

We designed a comprehensive security solution adhering to AWS best practices:

ERP Hosting:
- Hosted the ERP application on auto-scaling EC2 instances behind an Application Load Balancer (ALB) with HTTPS enabled via ACM.
- Utilized Elastic File System (EFS) for shared application data storage.
Data Security:
- Enabled EBS encryption for instance storage volumes.
- Configured S3 buckets for secure data backup with encryption and versioning enabled.
- Deployed Secrets Manager to manage database credentials and API keys securely.
IAM and Access Control:
- Implemented least-privilege access for IAM users and roles.
- Set up periodic IAM key rotation using Lambda automation.
- Enabled Access Analyzer to monitor for overly permissive access policies.
Network Security:
- Used VPC with private subnets for database and application servers.
- Configured security groups and NACLs to control inbound and outbound traffic.
- Deployed AWS WAF and Shield Advanced to protect the application against common threats.
Compliance and Monitoring:
- Enabled AWS Config with custom rules to enforce industry-specific compliance.
- Integrated Security Hub for centralized monitoring and compliance reporting.
- Deployed CloudTrail for audit logging with logs stored in a secure S3 bucket in a separate account.
Threat Detection and Response:
- Implemented GuardDuty for threat detection across AWS accounts and workloads.
- Used AWS Inspector to identify vulnerabilities in EC2 instances and containers.
- Configured CloudWatch alarms for anomaly detection and automated remediation using Lambda.
Cost Management:
- Set up AWS Budgets for proactive cost monitoring and alerts.
- Optimized EC2 and RDS instances using Reserved Instances and Savings Plans.

Outcomes of Project & Success Metrics:

Improved Security: Secured sensitive business data with encryption, IAM best practices, and threat detection.
Compliance Achieved: Fully compliant with industry regulations and internal security policies.
Operational Efficiency: Enhanced system uptime and reliability with auto-scaling and proactive monitoring.
Cost Optimization: Reduced operational costs by 30% with resource optimization strategies.
User Satisfaction: Achieved 100% user trust with transparent and robust data protection mechanisms.

TCO Analysis Performed:

Encryption Overhead: Evaluated the costs of enabling encryption for all storage and data in transit.
Resource Optimization: Quantified savings from using Reserved Instances and Savings Plans.
Threat Detection Costs: Assessed expenses for GuardDuty, Security Hub, and Inspector.
Compliance Reporting: Analyzed costs for automated compliance reporting and audits.

Lessons Learned

Customization is Key: Tailoring AWS best practices to the ERP’s architecture ensures comprehensive security.
Integrated Monitoring: Combining Security Hub, GuardDuty, and Config simplifies incident management.
Automation Benefits: Automating key rotations and compliance checks reduces operational overhead.
Proactive Scaling: Leveraging auto-scaling ensures seamless operations during high demand.
Data Resilience: Implementing backup and versioning strategies enhances recovery capabilities.