Amazon RDS Compliance Management

Achieving Amazon RDS Compliance Management requires more than just encryption and user access control. Enterprises running PostgreSQL on Amazon RDS need real-time auditing, dynamic masking, comprehensive data discovery, and cross-platform integration. This article outlines how to configure native PostgreSQL RDS tools for compliance and how to extend those capabilities with DataSunrise’s autonomous security platform.

Native PostgreSQL RDS: Real-Time Audit, Masking & Discovery

Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL includes several built-in features that support continuous compliance, particularly when properly configured. Below is a practical guide for native security and compliance setup using PostgreSQL.

Real-Time Audit with pgaudit

Amazon RDS supports pgAudit, an extension designed for detailed session and object-level logging. It helps track DML and DDL activity — critical for GDPR and PCI DSS compliance.

Enable pgaudit on your RDS instance:

-- Modify parameter group
rds.enable_pgaudit = 1
shared_preload_libraries = 'pgaudit'

Enable auditing at session level:

ALTER SYSTEM SET pgaudit.log = 'read, write, ddl, role';
ALTER SYSTEM SET pgaudit.role = 'rds_pgaudit';

Then, reboot the RDS instance to apply the configuration. Logs are viewable in CloudWatch and can be integrated with Athena for centralized querying.

Dynamic Data Masking

Though PostgreSQL lacks native dynamic masking, custom masking via views is an effective workaround.

CREATE VIEW masked_users AS
SELECT
  id,
  username,
  '****' || RIGHT(phone, 4) AS masked_phone,
  LEFT(email, 1) || '***@***.com' AS masked_email
FROM users;

GRANT SELECT ON masked_users TO readonly_role;

This method ensures that unauthorized users only see obfuscated data while preserving query compatibility.

Data Discovery Using Amazon Macie

For structured and unstructured data, Amazon Macie provides PII/PHI discovery by scanning S3 exports. This extends discovery beyond raw database queries to storage layers, useful for identifying compliance risks.

To activate:

• Export RDS snapshots or logs to S3

• Enable Macie to scan those buckets

Explore more discovery tools with Amazon DataZone, which enhances metadata cataloging across RDS and beyond.

Security Best Practices

Amazon also recommends RDS encryption and least privilege access models for overall protection. Use IAM database authentication and multi-AZ replication for resilience and identity management.

Enterprise-Grade Compliance with DataSunrise

To go beyond native capabilities, DataSunrise offers zero-touch automation and cross-platform intelligence that transform Amazon RDS into a Compliance Autopilot.

Autonomous Real-Time Audit

Unlike native logs that require manual inspection, DataSunrise provides real-time database activity monitoring and custom audit rules with no-code interfaces. You can define suspicious activity policies, trigger alerts via MS Teams or Slack, and generate audit-ready reports on demand.

This enables audit automation across GDPR, HIPAA, and PCI DSS.

Dynamic Masking With Fine-Tuned Precision

DataSunrise supports dynamic data masking with surgical granularity — not just obfuscating data but adapting based on context like user roles or query types.

You can configure rules to show only partial data to specific user roles or apply user behavior analytics that dynamically update masking levels in real time. All of this works in non-intrusive proxy/sniffer modes.

Sensitive Data Discovery

With DataSunrise, sensitive data discovery is continuous and intelligent. It uses ML-powered classification and even OCR for image-based PII.

Compliance Manager & Policy Automation

DataSunrise acts as a Compliance Manager with built-in frameworks for SOX, GDPR, HIPAA. It supports no-code policy automation and custom compliance evidence generation, helping eliminate gaps and reduce manual oversight.

Seamless Multi-Platform Integration

From Amazon RDS to Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, and MongoDB, DataSunrise ensures cross-database visibility and native cloud platform support. It fits hybrid environments using reverse proxy or native log trailing and includes real-time threat detection.

Conclusion: Risk Reduction at Scale

Amazon RDS Compliance Management is achievable with native tools, but for organizations seeking to scale securely across regions and teams, DataSunrise delivers a unified, zero-touch compliance platform.

By combining real-time audit, dynamic masking, and sensitive data discovery with cross-platform integration, DataSunrise simplifies regulatory workflows while minimizing compliance risk. Experience the autonomous compliance platform in action.