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Security Architecture

Section: 5 - Security Architecture
Status: Comprehensive Security Documentation
Audience: Security teams, auditors, compliance officers, technical leadership

🎯 Overview

The MachineAvatars platform implements a defense-in-depth security strategy across multiple layers: network, application, and data. This section documents our comprehensive security architecture, controls, and compliance measures.

🔐 Security Philosophy

Core Principles

1. Defense in Depth Multiple layers of security controls ensure that if one layer is compromised, others continue to protect the system.

2. Least Privilege Users and services are granted only the minimum permissions necessary to perform their functions.

3. Zero Trust No implicit trust is granted. Every access request is verified, authenticated, and authorized.

4. Security by Design Security is integrated into the development process from day one, not added as an afterthought.

5. Compliance First All security controls are designed to meet or exceed regulatory requirements (GDPR, DPDPA 2023, HIPAA, SOC 2).

6. Transparency Security practices are documented and transparent to customers, especially Enterprise clients.

🏗️ Security Layers

Layer 1: Network Security

Components:

  • Azure Virtual Network (VNet) isolation
  • Network Security Groups (NSGs)
  • Azure Firewall with DDoS protection
  • IP whitelisting (Enterprise)
  • TLS 1.3 encryption for all traffic

Protection Against:

  • Unauthorized network access
  • DDoS attacks
  • Man-in-the-middle attacks
  • Network sniffing

Documentation: Network Security

Layer 2: Application Security

Components:

  • Authentication & Authorization (JWT, OTP, RBAC)
  • API security (rate limiting, validation)
  • Input sanitization & validation
  • CORS configuration
  • Secret management (Azure Key Vault)

Protection Against:

  • Unauthorized access
  • SQL injection
  • XSS attacks
  • CSRF attacks
  • API abuse

Documentation:

Layer 3: Data Security

Components:

  • Encryption at rest (AES-256)
  • Encryption in transit (TLS 1.3)
  • Database access controls
  • Data anonymization
  • Secure backups

Protection Against:

  • Data breaches
  • Unauthorized data access
  • Data loss
  • Data tampering

Documentation: Encryption

Layer 4: Access Control

Components:

  • Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
  • Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
  • Single Sign-On (SSO) - Enterprise
  • Audit logging
  • Session management

Protection Against:

  • Unauthorized user access
  • Privilege escalation
  • Account takeover
  • Insider threats

Documentation: Access Control

Layer 5: Operational Security

Components:

  • Security testing (penetration tests, vulnerability scans)
  • Incident response procedures
  • Security monitoring & alerts
  • Compliance controls

Protection Against:

  • Vulnerabilities
  • Security incidents
  • Compliance violations
  • Delayed incident response

Documentation:

🚨 Current Security Status

✅ Implemented

Authentication:

  • ✅ Email/password authentication (bcrypt hashing)
  • ✅ OTP verification (60-second expiry)
  • ✅ reCAPTCHA v2 bot protection
  • ✅ JWT token management
  • ✅ Password reset flow

Encryption:

  • ✅ TLS 1.3 for all connections
  • ✅ MongoDB encryption (Azure-managed)
  • ✅ HTTPS enforcement

Access Control:

  • ✅ Role-based permissions (5 roles)
  • ✅ Chatbot-level access control
  • ✅ Audit logging (limited)

API Security:

  • ✅ API key authentication
  • ✅ Rate limiting by plan
  • ✅ CORS configuration
  • ✅ Input validation

Compliance:

  • ✅ GDPR data export/deletion
  • ✅ DPDPA data localization (India)
  • ✅ PCI DSS compliant payments (via Razorpay)

🟡 In Progress

Secret Management:

  • 🟡 Migration from hardcoded API keys to Azure Key Vault (CRITICAL)
  • 🟡 Automated key rotation

Compliance:

  • 🟡 SOC 2 Type II certification (Q2 2025)
  • 🟡 ISO 27001 certification (Q4 2025)

Security Testing:

  • 🟡 Annual penetration testing (Q1 2025)
  • 🟡 Automated SAST integration

⏳ Planned

Authentication:

  • ⏳ SMS-based OTP
  • ⏳ Authenticator app MFA
  • ⏳ Biometric authentication (mobile)

Encryption:

  • ⏳ Customer-managed encryption keys (Enterprise)
  • ⏳ End-to-end chat encryption (optional)

Access Control:

  • ⏳ Advanced audit logging (security events)
  • ⏳ Automated compliance reports

Operational:

  • ⏳ Bug bounty program
  • ⏳ Security awareness training
  • ⏳ 24/7 security monitoring

🏢 Security by Plan Tier

Free Plan

Security Features:

  • Basic authentication (email/password)
  • HTTPS/TLS encryption
  • reCAPTCHA protection
  • GDPR/DPDPA compliant data handling
  • 7-day chat history retention

Limitations:

  • No MFA
  • No SSO
  • Community support only
  • No SLA

Pro Plan

Security Features:

  • All Free features, plus:
  • OTP verification
  • 30-day chat history retention
  • Email support for security issues

Limitations:

  • No SSO
  • No IP whitelisting
  • No dedicated security support

Business Plan

Security Features:

  • All Pro features, plus:
  • Advanced audit logging
  • 90-day chat history retention
  • Priority support for security issues
  • Data export (CSV, JSON)
  • Security incident SLA (12-hour response)

Limitations:

  • No SSO
  • No IP whitelisting
  • No on-premise deployment

Premium Plan (Enterprise)

Security Features:

  • All Business features, plus:
  • Single Sign-On (SSO): SAML 2.0, OAuth 2.0, LDAP
  • IP Whitelisting: Restrict access by IP range
  • Customer-Managed Keys: Bring your own encryption keys
  • Data Residency: Choose data center location
  • Advanced Audit Logs: Complete security event logging
  • Unlimited Chat History: Full audit trail
  • Dedicated Security Support: 24/7 security team access
  • Incident Response SLA: 1-hour critical response
  • On-Premise Deployment: Complete control (HIPAA-ready)
  • Penetration Test Reports: Annual third-party tests
  • SOC 2 Type II Compliance: Certified controls
  • BAA/DPA Agreements: HIPAA, GDPR legal agreements

🎯 Compliance Overview

GDPR (EU - General Data Protection Regulation)

Status: ✅ Compliant
Key Requirements:

  • Data subject rights (access, erasure, portability)
  • Consent management
  • Data breach notification (72 hours)
  • Data minimization
  • Privacy by design

Documentation: Compliance Controls

DPDPA 2023 (India - Digital Personal Data Protection Act)

Status: ✅ Compliant
Key Requirements:

  • Data localization (Azure Central India)
  • Consent framework
  • Data principal rights
  • Data fiduciary obligations
  • Children's data protection

Documentation: Compliance Controls

HIPAA (US - Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)

Status: ⚠️ On-Premise Only
Key Requirements:

  • PHI (Protected Health Information) encryption
  • Access controls and audit trails
  • BAA (Business Associate Agreement) required
  • 7-year data retention minimum
  • Breach notification compliance

Note: HIPAA compliance only available for Enterprise on-premise deployments.

Documentation: Compliance Controls

SOC 2 Type II

Status: 🟡 In Progress (Q2 2025)
Trust Service Criteria:

  • Security: Access control, encryption, monitoring
  • Availability: 99.9% uptime, disaster recovery
  • Confidentiality: Data protection, NDAs
  • Processing Integrity: Accurate, complete processing
  • Privacy: GDPR/DPDPA alignment

Documentation: Compliance Controls

PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard)

Status: ✅ Compliant (via Razorpay)
Implementation:

  • All payment processing handled by Razorpay (Level 1 PCI DSS certified)
  • No card data stored on MachineAvatars servers
  • Payment tokenization only
  • Razorpay handles PCI compliance

Documentation: Compliance Controls

🚨 Known Security Issues & Mitigation

CRITICAL: Hardcoded API Keys

Issue:
Multiple backend services contain hardcoded API keys in source code, including:

  • Azure OpenAI API keys (11 services)
  • Azure TTS API keys
  • Together AI (Llama) API keys
  • Groq API keys
  • MongoDB connection strings

Risk: High - Exposed credentials if code repository compromised

Affected Services:

  1. response-3d-chatbot-service
  2. response-text-chatbot-service
  3. response-voice-chatbot-service
  4. llm-model-service
  5. client-data-collection-service
    • 6 more services

Mitigation Status: 🟡 In Progress
Solution: Migrate all secrets to Azure Key Vault
Timeline: Q1 2025
Documentation: Secret Management

MEDIUM: Limited Audit Logging

Issue:
Current audit logging is limited to basic user actions. Advanced security events (failed login attempts, permission changes, API key usage) not fully logged.

Risk: Medium - Limited forensic capability in case of incident

Mitigation Status: 🟡 Planned
Solution: Implement comprehensive security event logging
Timeline: Q2 2025

LOW: WAV File Race Condition

Issue:
Potential race condition in 3D chatbot service when generating WAV files for lip-sync.

Risk: Low - Could cause incorrect lip-sync in rare cases

Mitigation Status: ⏳ Planned
Solution: Atomic file naming with unique identifiers
Timeline: Q1 2025

👥 Security Team & Responsibilities

Security Roles

Security Owner: CTO
Responsibilities:

  • Overall security strategy
  • Security budget and resources
  • Compliance sign-off
  • Incident escalation

Security Engineer(s):
Responsibilities:

  • Security architecture implementation
  • Secret management
  • Security testing
  • Vulnerability remediation
  • Security monitoring

DevOps Engineers:
Responsibilities:

  • Infrastructure security (Azure)
  • Network security
  • Deployment security
  • CI/CD security

Development Team:
Responsibilities:

  • Secure coding practices
  • Code review (security focus)
  • Dependency updates
  • Authentication/authorization implementation

Compliance Officer (External):
Responsibilities:

  • GDPR/DPDPA compliance
  • SOC 2 audit coordination
  • Legal agreements (DPA, BAA)
  • Privacy policy updates

📅 Security Roadmap

Q1 2025

Critical:

  • ✅ Complete Security Architecture Documentation
  • 🟡 Azure Key Vault migration (eliminate hardcoded keys)
  • 🟡 WAV file race condition fix
  • 🟡 Annual penetration testing
  • 🟡 Vulnerability scanning automation

Q2 2025

Important:

  • SOC 2 Type II audit (complete certification)
  • Advanced audit logging implementation
  • SMS-based OTP
  • Automated SAST in CI/CD
  • Security awareness training

Q3 2025

Enhancement:

  • Authenticator app MFA
  • Customer-managed encryption keys (Enterprise)
  • 24/7 security monitoring
  • Bug bounty program launch

Q4 2025

Future:

  • ISO 27001 certification
  • End-to-end chat encryption (optional)
  • Biometric authentication (mobile)
  • AI-powered threat detection

📚 Documentation Structure

This security architecture section contains the following detailed documents:

Document Purpose Priority
Authentication & Authorization Auth flows, JWT, OTP, RBAC P0
Encryption Data encryption at rest & in transit P0
API Security API authentication, rate limiting, validation P0
Secret Management Azure Key Vault, hardcoded keys migration P0
Network Security Network architecture, firewall, IP whitelisting P1
Security Testing Penetration tests, vulnerability scans P1
Incident Response Security incident procedures P1
Access Control RBAC, permissions, audit logs P0
Compliance Controls GDPR, DPDPA, HIPAA, SOC 2 P0

Technical Specification:

Features:

Compliance:

Architecture:

📞 Security Contact

Security Issues: security@machineavatars.com
Incident Reporting: incidents@machineavatars.com (24/7)
Compliance Inquiries: compliance@machineavatars.com

Response Times:

  • Critical (P0): 1 hour (Premium), 12 hours (Business)
  • High (P1): 4 hours (Premium), 24 hours (Business)
  • Medium (P2): 12 hours (Premium), 48 hours (Business)
  • Low (P3): 24 hours (Premium), 72 hours (Business)

"Security is not a feature. It's a foundation." 🔐🛡️