Data Management

Data Location

Data used or generated by the Experian One Platform is managed in a platform data layer that forms part of each platform instance. The processing is co-located with the data and there is with no requirement for data movement between Regions. The persistent data storage mechanisms include:

  • Temporary filesystems provided to the execution contexts.
  • Permanent filesystems provided to the execution contexts.
  • Relational data stores provided by Amazon Web Services Relational Database Service (AWS RDS).
  • NoSQL data stores provided by custom database software.
  • Key-Value data stores provided by a Vault designed to protect high value sensitive information. In every case the data is stored with geo-redundancy within the platform Location.

Data Encryption

Data encryption in transit

All data is encrypted in transit as it enters, leaves or traverses between physical locations within the platform:

  • Transport Layer Security is enforced on all requests, responses and data layer connectivity.
  • Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) tunnels are maintained between Experian data centres and the AWS cloud.
  • File import/export uses the Secure Shell (SSH) protocol as part of a Managed File Transfer solution.

Data encryption at rest

All data is encrypted by the data storage layers:

  • Temporary and persistent volumes attached to execution instances are supported on block devices encrypted with AES-256.
  • AWS RDS databases and snapshots are encrypted with AES-256 using a key dedicated to each client managed by Amazon Web Services Key Management Service (AWS KMS).
  • The Vault component encrypts data with AES-256 using keys managed within the Vault created during service provisioning.

Application data encryption

Scenarios such as fraud detection typically suffer from field-level encryption where it impacts the ability to analyse data for patterns. Hashing and tokenisation techniques are used on a case-by-case basis, as well as encryption of fields within databases where there is no need to search on the values.

Data Resilience

The data layer is built upon the AWS RDS platform in multi-AZ configuration. As documented by AWS, the primary database instance is synchronously replicated across Availability Zones to a standby replica to provide data redundancy, eliminate I/O freezes, and minimise latency spikes during system backups. Running a database instance with high availability enhances the Experian One Platform service availability during planned system maintenance and helps protect the databases against database instance failure and Availability Zone disruption. In the event of a planned or unplanned outage of a database instance, Amazon RDS automatically switches to a standby replica in another Availability Zone. The time it takes for the failover to complete depends on the database activity and other conditions at the time the primary database instance became unavailable. Failover times are typically 60-120 seconds. The failover mechanism automatically changes the Domain Name System (DNS) record of the database instance to point to the standby database instance. As a result, the Experian One Platform services need not re-establish any existing connections to a secondary database instance. The failover and recovery take place automatically.

Data Retention

Data retention is part of the standard terms and conditions for the Experian One Platform. Snapshots are taken on a regular basis and data is retained for 7 days. The snapshots are maintained within the same region as the execution environment.

External Data Source Management

The Experian One Platform provides the ability to integrate with a wide variety of external data sources. The data link adaptors are developed and maintained as part of the platform and can be embedded in a strategy using the Design Studio. Once enabled, credentials to access these sources are often required and the Administrator can configure the credentials needed. These are encrypted and stored within the client compartment as part of the account configuration. This functionality is available both as an interactive administrative screen and an API. The credentials are write-only. Once configured, they cannot be retrieved.

Import / Export

Due to the sensitivity of the data processed within the Experian One Platform, bulk import/export is a controlled activity. The Experian Managed File Transfer service is configured as part of service provisioning. Imports into the decisioning process are received via Managed File Transfer, while exports from the operational data stores are delivered to a defined location rather than allowing direct download.