Payment Gateway Implementation for a B2B Bank
The Challenge
The client required a scalable, business-to-business payment gateway infrastructure deployed on Amazon Web Services (AWS). Due to the nature of the application, strict adherence to PCI DSS Level 1 norms was non-negotiable. This required:
- Lockdown procedures at every deployment step.
- Rigorous documentation for external audit scrutiny.
- Security clearance for all personnel involved.
- Zero compromise on performance despite heavy encryption and security layers.
Our Strategic Approach
Skynats devised a comprehensive architectural proposal tailored to the client's workflow. We executed a four-phase strategy:
- Analysis: Deep-dive meetings to align technical requirements with business goals and compliance mandates.
- Architecture Design: Blueprinting a cloud environment in AWS that natively supports auto-scaling while enforcing strict network isolation.
- Implementation: Deploying the secure architecture ready for preliminary internal aduits.
- Audit & Troubleshooting: continuous refinement based on auditor feedback to ensure 100% compliance certification.
Technical Implementation Details
To meet the stringent requirements, we deployed a robust stack of AWS services and security tools:
- Network Isolation: Deployed dedicated Virtual Private Clouds (VPCs) with strict sub-netting for staging and production environments.
- Compute & Scaling: Utilized EC2 instances with Auto Scaling Groups behind Application Load Balancers (ALB) to handle variable traffic loads.
- Data Persistence: Implemented Amazon RDS (Relational Database Service) and EFS (Elastic File System) with multi-region replication for high availability and disaster recovery.
- Security Suite: Centralized monitoring using Wazuh, ELK Stack, OpenVAS, and Snort for real-time threat detection, log management, and vulnerability assessment.
- Edge Security: Integrated AWS WAF (Web Application Firewall), CloudFront, and Route 53 for DDoS protection and secure content delivery.
- CI/CD: Established an AWS CodePipeline for automated, secure deployments.
The Outcome
The project was successfully completed within 3 months, covering everything from initial deployment to final testing and auditing. The system was rigorously scrutinized by the governing body and received full PCI-DSS Level 1 Certification, allowing the client to go live with a world-class, secure payment infrastructure.