Skip to main content

Security Overview and Encryption Management

This guide provides system administrators with comprehensive information about Conducky's security architecture, encryption implementation, and administrative security controls.

🔒 Database Encryption Implementation​

Overview​

Conducky implements comprehensive database encryption for all sensitive user data using industry-standard AES-256-GCM encryption with authenticated encryption to prevent tampering.

Encrypted Data Types​

Phase 1 - Core Incident Data (Implemented):

  • Incident.description - Detailed incident reports
  • Incident.parties - Individuals involved in incidents
  • Incident.location - Incident location information
  • IncidentComment.body - All comments on incident reports

Phase 2 - Extended Data (Implemented):

  • Event.contactEmail - Event organizer contact information

System Settings (Pre-existing):

  • OAuth provider credentials
  • SMTP server passwords
  • Other sensitive system configuration

Encryption Technical Specifications​

Algorithm: AES-256-GCM (Advanced Encryption Standard, 256-bit key, Galois/Counter Mode)

  • Key Size: 256 bits (32 bytes)
  • Authentication: Built-in authentication tag prevents tampering
  • Mode: GCM provides both confidentiality and authenticity

Security Features:

  • Unique Salt Per Operation: Each encryption uses a unique salt to prevent rainbow table attacks
  • PBKDF2 Key Derivation: Master encryption key is derived using PBKDF2 with high iteration count
  • Format: salt:iv:encrypted:authTag (all hex-encoded)
  • Backward Compatibility: Supports legacy 3-part format during migration

🔐 Encryption Key Management​

Environment Configuration​

Required Environment Variable:

ENCRYPTION_KEY=your-secret-encryption-key-here

Key Requirements:

  • Minimum Length: 32 characters
  • Recommended: 64+ character random string
  • Character Set: Alphanumeric and special characters
  • Generation: Use cryptographically secure random generation

Example Key Generation:

# Generate a secure encryption key (produces ~64 character base64 string)
openssl rand -base64 48

Production Deployment​

Railway Deployment:

# Set encryption key via Railway CLI
railway variables set ENCRYPTION_KEY="your-generated-key-here"

# Verify key is set correctly
railway variables list | grep ENCRYPTION_KEY

Docker/Docker Compose:

# Add to .env file
echo "ENCRYPTION_KEY=your-generated-key-here" >> .env

# Or set in docker-compose.yml environment section
environment:
  - ENCRYPTION_KEY=your-generated-key-here

Key Rotation (Advanced)​

For security best practices, encryption keys should be rotated periodically:

  1. Generate New Key: Create a new encryption key
  2. Deploy Migration: Use migration scripts to re-encrypt data with new key
  3. Update Environment: Replace old key with new key in production
  4. Verify Operation: Test that all encrypted data can be accessed

Note: Key rotation requires planned maintenance and careful coordination.

🛡️ Security Architecture​

Multi-Layer Security Model​

1. Network Security:

  • HTTPS/TLS encryption for all communications
  • Secure headers (HSTS, CSP, X-Frame-Options)
  • Rate limiting on sensitive endpoints

2. Authentication & Authorization:

  • Passport.js-based authentication
  • Session-based authentication with secure cookies
  • Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
  • Multi-tenancy with event-scoped data isolation

3. Data Protection:

  • Database encryption for sensitive data
  • Input validation and sanitization
  • SQL injection prevention via Prisma ORM
  • XSS protection through output encoding

4. Audit & Monitoring:

  • Comprehensive audit logging
  • Database performance monitoring
  • Failed authentication tracking
  • Administrative action logging

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)​

System Roles:

  • System Admin - Full platform access and management
  • Organization Admin - Organization-wide access and management
  • Organization Viewer - Read-only organization access
  • Event Admin - Event-specific administrative access
  • Responder - Incident handling and response
  • Reporter - Incident reporting and own submissions

Permission Inheritance:

  • System Admin → All permissions
  • Organization Admin → All events in organization
  • Event Admin → Specific event only
  • Role levels prevent privilege escalation

📊 Database Performance Considerations​

Query Limitations with Encryption​

Operations NOT Available on Encrypted Fields:

  • LIKE queries for text search
  • ORDER BY on encrypted content
  • Database-level aggregations
  • Server-side full-text search

Workarounds Implemented:

  • Client-side filtering after decryption
  • Search indexing on non-encrypted metadata
  • Optimized queries with proper database indexes
  • Batch operations for performance

Performance Monitoring​

Database Monitoring Service:

  • Query execution time tracking
  • Slow query identification (>100ms)
  • N+1 query detection
  • Performance metrics and reporting

Admin Endpoints:

GET /api/admin/database/performance
POST /api/admin/database/performance/reset

🔧 Administrative Tasks​

Migration Management​

Phase Migration Commands:

# Security fix migration (completed)
npm run migrate:encrypt-security:dry-run
npm run migrate:encrypt-security

# Phase 1 migration (completed)
npm run migrate:phase1-encryption:dry-run
npm run migrate:phase1-encryption

# Phase 2 migration (completed)
npm run migrate:phase2-encryption:dry-run
npm run migrate:phase2-encryption

Migration Best Practices:

  1. Always run dry-run first to see what will be affected
  2. Backup database before running migrations
  3. Test in staging environment first
  4. Monitor performance after migration
  5. Verify data integrity post-migration

Encryption Validation​

Test Encryption Status:

# Check if data is properly encrypted
node -e "
const { isEncrypted } = require('./dist/src/utils/encryption');
// Test sample data
console.log('Sample encrypted data valid:', isEncrypted('salt:iv:data:tag'));
"

Database Queries:

-- Check encryption coverage (sample queries)
SELECT COUNT(*) as total_incidents,
       COUNT(CASE WHEN description LIKE 'salt:%:%:%' THEN 1 END) as encrypted_descriptions
FROM "Incident";

SELECT COUNT(*) as total_comments,
       COUNT(CASE WHEN body LIKE 'salt:%:%:%' THEN 1 END) as encrypted_bodies  
FROM "IncidentComment";

🚨 Security Incident Response​

Incident Types and Response​

1. Unauthorized Access Attempt:

  • Review audit logs for suspicious activity
  • Check authentication logs for failed attempts
  • Verify user account integrity
  • Consider password reset for affected accounts

2. Data Breach Concerns:

  • Immediate: Isolate affected systems
  • Assessment: Determine scope and impact
  • Communication: Notify stakeholders as appropriate
  • Remediation: Apply necessary security fixes
  • Documentation: Record incident and response

3. Encryption Key Compromise:

  • Critical Priority: Immediate key rotation required
  • Generate new encryption key
  • Plan maintenance window for re-encryption
  • Update all production environments
  • Verify all systems operational with new key

Audit Log Analysis​

Review Administrative Actions:

# Check recent admin actions
GET /api/admin/system/audit?action=*admin*&limit=100

# Check specific user activity
GET /api/admin/system/audit?userId=USER_ID&limit=50

# Check failed authentication attempts
GET /api/admin/system/audit?action=login_failed&limit=100

📈 Monitoring and Maintenance​

Regular Security Tasks​

Daily:

  • Monitor audit logs for unusual activity
  • Check system health and performance metrics
  • Review failed authentication attempts

Weekly:

  • Review user access and role assignments
  • Check for system updates and security patches
  • Analyze database performance reports

Monthly:

  • Conduct security configuration review
  • Review and update user access permissions
  • Analyze incident trends and patterns

Quarterly:

  • Security architecture review
  • Consider encryption key rotation
  • Update disaster recovery procedures

Performance Optimization​

Encryption Performance Tuning:

  • Monitor query execution times
  • Optimize database indexes
  • Implement client-side caching where appropriate
  • Use batch operations for bulk updates

Scaling Considerations:

  • Database read replicas for query performance
  • Application-level caching for frequently accessed data
  • CDN for static assets and public content

🔍 Compliance and Documentation​

Security Documentation​

Maintain Current Documentation:

  • Security policies and procedures
  • Incident response procedures
  • User access management procedures
  • Encryption key management procedures

Audit Requirements:

  • Regular security assessments
  • Access log reviews
  • Compliance reporting
  • Security training documentation

Data Protection Compliance​

GDPR/Privacy Considerations:

  • Right to data export (implemented)
  • Right to data deletion (implemented)
  • Data processing transparency (documented)
  • Consent management (event-specific)

Industry Standards:

  • Follow OWASP security guidelines
  • Implement defense-in-depth strategy
  • Regular security vulnerability assessments
  • Incident response procedures

For user-facing security information, refer to the User Security Guide.