Enhanced Security: Credential Management in Alation Cloud Service

As applications increasingly migrate to the cloud, security has become a critical priority. In fact, 80% of companies experienced cloud-security incidents in 2023. Cloud security encompasses several key components, including:

• Data Security: Encryption of data both at rest and in transit, data masking, and other protective measures.

• Identity and Access Management (IAM): Proper authentication, authorization, and credential management practices.

• Network Security: Firewalls, VPNs, and intrusion detection systems.

• Compliance management: Adherence to regulations such as GDPR, ISO 27001, and HIPAA.

This blog focuses on best practices for credential management in Alation Cloud Service—a SaaS offering that delivers a data intelligence platform tailored to enterprise needs. The Alation platform integrates seamlessly with external data sources, BI systems, and file systems to support the ingestion of metadata and data.

About credential management

Enterprises often use secure vaults such as HashiCorp Vault or AWS Secrets Manager to manage credentials for various resources. Leveraging these vaults offers significant benefits:

• Prevention of Credential Sprawl: Reduces the risk of unmanaged credentials scattered across systems.

• Improved Control: Centralizes oversight and tighter security.

• Credential Rotation: Enables automatic rotation policies to enhance security.

The Alation platform supports integration with secure vaults, allowing credentials to be retrieved at runtime for authenticating with data sources, BI systems, and file systems during metadata and data ingestion.

For enterprises operating in highly regulated industries such as healthcare and financial services, strict requirements govern the handling of credentials in the cloud. A key priority is ensuring that credentials never leave the customer’s network, as this minimizes the attack surface and prevents unauthorized access.

Alation’s agent-based credential management

To address these stringent requirements, the Alation platform has introduced an enhanced agent architecture (see figure below). Here’s how it works:

1. Agent Deployment: The Alation Agent runs within the customer’s network, with connectors to various data sources deployed on the Agent.

2. Authentication Component: The new authentication component within the Agent securely retrieves credentials from the vault.

3. Secure Credential Handling: Credentials are passed directly to the connectors for authenticating with external systems at runtime, ensuring they never leave the customer’s network.

This architecture bolsters security by reducing exposure and protecting sensitive credentials from interception by malicious actors.

Supporting data masking to enhance security

In addition to its robust credential management capabilities, Alation supports advanced data masking to protect sensitive information. By implementing policies that leverage varying degrees of protection, Alation enables organizations to:

• Mask sensitive data from view for specific user groups based on role or access level.

• Lock access to catalog pages entirely for unauthorized users.

• Enforce bi-directional policies at the database level with certain data sources, ensuring consistent compliance.

These features are critical for organizations that need to safeguard sensitive information while maintaining granular control over data visibility. By combining data masking with secure credential management, Alation provides a comprehensive approach to enhancing cloud security.

Conclusion

At Alation, we are committed to enhancing cloud security for our customers. By ensuring that credentials remain securely within the customer’s network, the Alation platform delivers yet another layer of protection. This advancement reflects our ongoing dedication to safeguarding enterprise data and enabling secure, compliant operations in the Cloud.

Curious to learn more about Alation Cloud Service? Book a demo with us today.