Integrating DynamoDB

Capabilities

DataGrail's DynamoDB integration provides the following capabilities:

Product	Capability
Live Data Map	Data Discovery

Before You Start

To successfully configure this integration, please ensure you have sufficient privileges:

• DataGrail User Role: Super Admin, Connections Manager
• DynamoDB User Role: Admin
• Secrets Vault: Write Access

Connection Instructions (RDD Agent)

The Responsible Data Discovery Agent allows you to securely perform data classification by connecting to internal systems within your network, and without requiring ingress from the public network.

For the Agent to scan DynamoDB, an IAM Policy is used to allow the Agent to connect and perform the necessary operations. Additional connection details will be stored securely in a vault on your network. When configuring the DynamoDB integration in DataGrail, only the location of that vault entry will be referenced (e.g. AWS Secrets Manager ARN), which ensures that no secrets are shared directly with DataGrail.

Before Connecting

In order to start scanning DynamoDB, ensure the following:

• RDD Agent is deployed and connected in DataGrail.
• Network is configured to allow the Agent to connect with the DynamoDB instance.

Create IAM Policy

To connect to DynamoDB and scan a database , you will first need to create an IAM policy that will be attached to the ECS Task Role. The following instructions provide an example policy to configure, but it's recommended to consult your DynamoDB admin.

1. Using the following example, configure the IAM Policy:

Example IAM Policy JSON

To use this policy, make the following updates:

1. Replace the placeholder values in <angle brackets> with your values (e.g. region, account ID, database).
2. To support multiple databases, buckets, regions, etc, you may wish to list those separately or use wild cards.

{
  "Version": "2012-10-17",
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Sid": "DynamoDB",
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": [
        "dynamodb:ListGlobalTables",
        "dynamodb:DescribeTable",
        "dynamodb:ListTables",
        "account:ListRegions",
        "dynamodb:Scan"
      ],
      "Resource": "arn:aws:dynamodb:<REGION>:<ACCOUNT>:table/<TABLE_NAME>"
    }
  ]
}

2. Create the IAM policy.
3. Attach the new policy to the ECS Task Role.

Create and Store Credentials

1. In DynamoDB, create a new user datagrail-scanner with read-only privileges. Consult your preferred DynamoDB documentation as needed.

2. Configure the following JSON key-value pairs:

   {
     "role_arn": "<role arn>",
     "external_id": "<external id>",
     "region_name": "<region, e.g. 'us-east-1'>"
   }

3. Store the JSON value in your vault with an entry name like datagrail-dynamodb-rdd.

Add the Agent Integration

1. In DataGrail, navigate to Agents under Integration network.
2. Select your Agent.
3. In the top right, select Add New Integration.
4. Search for DynamoDB, then select Configure.
5. Enter an Integration Name, and only enable the Data Discovery capability.
6. Enter the Connection Details Location (e.g. AWS Secrets Manager ARN).
7. (optional) Choose the Business Processes, Region, and System Location.
8. Finally, select Configure Integration. Wait a few moments to ensure that the connection is successful. For failed connections, review the Agent container logs for additional details.

Troubleshooting

If you are unable to successfully connect the integration, review these common troubleshooting steps:

Agent Unable to Connect to DynamoDB

1. Verify that the network is configured to allow the Agent to connect with the DynamoDB instance.
2. Verify the Agent has permissions to access the DynamoDB credentials stored in your vault.

Agent is Not Connected in DataGrail

Review the setup guide, and ensure that:

1. The DataGrail API Key is valid and has not expired.
2. The Agent has permissions to access the DataGrail API Key stored in your vault.
3. Network egress is permitted from the Agent to your DataGrail domain.