Amazon RDS Data Compliance Automation

Enterprises managing sensitive workloads on Amazon RDS need to ensure security, privacy, and compliance without sacrificing scalability or ease of use. Amazon RDS Data Compliance Automation combines native auditing and masking with next-gen policy orchestration to enforce security and streamline regulatory alignment across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

Native Capabilities in Amazon RDS for PostgreSQL

Amazon RDS provides a foundation for automated data compliance through built-in audit, masking, and data classification features. For PostgreSQL users, native tools allow effective configuration of real-time tracking and sensitive data protection.

Real-Time Audit Setup

RDS for PostgreSQL supports the pgAudit extension, enabling detailed logging of user activity.

To activate it:

-- Enable pgaudit in DB parameter group
aws rds modify-db-parameter-group \
  --db-parameter-group-name mydbparams \
  --parameters "ParameterName=pgaudit.log,ParameterValue=all,ApplyMethod=immediate"

Once enabled, user actions like DDL, DML, and role changes are logged, providing an audit trail for compliance standards such as GDPR, PCI DSS, and SOX. You can integrate Amazon S3 and Amazon Athena to centralize audit analysis.

Dynamic Data Masking with AWS Tools

To reduce exposure of sensitive data in RDS for PostgreSQL, AWS supports dynamic data masking techniques:

CREATE VIEW masked_view AS
SELECT
  user_id,
  user_email,
  'XXX-XXX-' || RIGHT(phone_number, 4) AS phone_masked,
  LEFT(card_number, 4) || '-XXXX-XXXX-' || RIGHT(card_number, 4) AS card_masked
FROM sensitive_data;

This supports real-time data obfuscation, minimizing the risk of data leaks.

Data Discovery with Amazon Macie and AWS DataZone

Sensitive data identification is critical for compliance. Amazon Macie automates classification of PII and other sensitive content. Meanwhile, AWS DataZone offers search and governance for structured metadata.

Together, these tools enhance continuous compliance posture across RDS.

Autonomous Compliance with DataSunrise

To go beyond native features, DataSunrise delivers enterprise-grade zero-touch compliance automation for Amazon RDS, combining sensitive data discovery, real-time audit, dynamic masking, and security orchestration into a centralized, no-code solution.

Zero-Touch Security Deployment

DataSunrise deploys seamlessly alongside Amazon RDS instances, operating in sniffer, native log, or reverse proxy modes for non-intrusive data protection. It supports hybrid and multi-cloud environments, making it ideal for RDS instances spanning AWS, GCP, and Azure. Learn more about these deployment modes.

Real-Time Audit & Intelligent Policy Rules

DataSunrise enables real-time monitoring of queries, users, and session anomalies through Machine Learning Audit Rules. These audit trails comply with SOX, HIPAA, and GDPR by default.

Policies can be configured visually using the No-Code Audit Rule Builder for dynamic control.

Dynamic Masking with Surgical Precision

Unlike static masking, DataSunrise dynamic masking applies context-aware protections based on user roles and query context.

Examples include full name redaction for third-party users or partial masking for internal staff. The system also supports masking types like character substitution and range restriction.

Sensitive Data Discovery

DataSunrise automatically discovers PII, PHI, and financial data within RDS for PostgreSQL. It classifies fields using NLP and ML for continuous protection. This improves visibility across large RDS estates and supports audit-ready reporting.

Discovered fields feed directly into policy automation and alerting systems.

Unified Security Framework for Cross-Platform Protection

DataSunrise delivers an enterprise-grade compliance platform with vendor-agnostic, cross-database coverage—extending the same policy to RDS, SQL Server, Oracle, and more. This supports organizations managing diverse environments without duplicating effort.

With automated compliance reporting, businesses can reduce manual audit preparation, detect compliance drift, and accelerate time-to-compliance.

Conclusion: Automated Compliance That Scales with You

Combining native PostgreSQL audit, AWS discovery tools, and DataSunrise’s autonomous capabilities, Amazon RDS Data Compliance Automation delivers scalable, zero-touch governance. Organizations gain streamlined compliance workflows, minimized risk, and audit-ready evidence with no manual overhead.

Explore DataSunrise’s full data security suite or schedule a demo to see how effortless compliance automation can be.