Sensitive information, including customer data, pricing details, sales plans, and passwords, needs restricted access. The principle is simple: it must be accessible to those who need it, and inaccessible to everyone else.
That's no longer optional. Sensitive information needs granular access control and compliance with industry regulations to reduce vulnerability and keep systems stable against potentially harmful activity. And this isn't just a concern for new, high-profile applications. Even everyday tools like platform monitoring systems need the same rigor. Static passwords and keys are no longer a viable option.
That's especially true when migrating from older, less capable software. Modernizing a platform means modernizing its security alongside it, with a clear set of cybersecurity goals and the right tools at the center of the implementation plan.
Our client, a global provider of high-tech expertise and solutions to governments, businesses, and nonprofit organizations, recognized that their growth demanded a migration from their existing monitoring system to a more powerful solution.
Challenges
As part of this migration, our client identified several challenges:
- The need to monitor their system for potential security threats while ensuring granular, role-based access for only authorized users.
- A reliable, highly available solution to host sensitive credentials.
- Round-the-clock platform monitoring to ensure high availability.
The client also wanted:
- Proven cybersecurity capabilities
- A modern platform with a long support cycle
- Flexibility and extensibility
- The ability to perform self-diagnostics and auto-remediation
During preliminary research, the client recognized that a migration of this scope required a technology partner with deep cybersecurity expertise, one with a proven track record planning and executing complex projects across distributed product development teams, using the latest best practices. SoftServe got the nod.
Solution
Following an initial review of the client's requirements and goals, SoftServe selected HashiCorp Vault as one of the key tools for the project, along with a Zabbix monitoring solution.
Vault works by authenticating and authorizing users, machines, and applications before granting them access to sensitive data. It provides access controls, dynamic credential generation, and the ability to audit and revoke access as needed.
To meet Zabbix's requirement for an uninterrupted connection to the Vault cluster, the team chose an integrated storage (RAFT) backend for data replication. PowerDNS was selected as the load-balancing mechanism for accessing Vault.
Project Implementation
To plan this project, SoftServe formed a dedicated team that joined members of the client's DevOps team to define requirements.
SoftServe designed, configured, and implemented a new monitoring system, along with PowerDNS and HashiCorp Vault, to meet the client's high-availability requirements. The solution allowed the client to monitor several network parameters, including the health and integrity of associated servers.
Technology Stack
- Zabbix
- PostgreSQL
- HashiCorp Vault
- PowerDNS
Value Delivered
SoftServe developed a reliable monitoring solution with secure methods for storing sensitive information and credentials. The team also automated the provisioning of customer services to the Zabbix monitoring system, allowing the client's DevOps teams to onboard services and create a predefined secret engine within HashiCorp Vault.
HashiCorp Vault protects organizations from leaked credentials that could damage business operations and reputation, by configuring generated credentials to automatically expire or persist for as long as needed.
Want to learn more about how SoftServe can help strengthen your organization's platform security using HashiCorp Vault? Let's talk!
