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HeliosDB Nano

HeliosDB Nano v3.0.0 Security Hardening Guide

HeliosDB Nano v3.0.0 Security Hardening Guide

Version: 3.0.0 Status: Production Ready Last Updated: December 4, 2025

Table of Contents

  1. Overview
  2. Network Security
  3. Authentication & Authorization
  4. Data Encryption
  5. Access Control
  6. Error Handling & Logging
  7. Deployment Security
  8. Monitoring & Alerting
  9. Security Checklist
  10. Known Limitations

Overview

HeliosDB Nano is a high-performance embedded database optimized for AI workloads. This guide covers security hardening practices for production deployments.

Security Architecture

  • Embedded Model: Runs within your application process (shared memory space)
  • No Network Protocol: Direct in-process API calls
  • PostgreSQL Compatible: SQL interface using PostgreSQL protocol compliance
  • Rate Limiting: Built-in rate limiting middleware for API protection

Threat Model

Protected Against:

  • ✅ External network attacks (no network interface)
  • ✅ Rate-based attacks (rate limiting enabled)
  • ✅ Concurrent access issues (MVCC transaction isolation)
  • ✅ Data corruption (WAL and crash recovery)
  • ✅ Unauthorized table access (access control)

Design Assumptions:

  • Application layer provides authentication
  • Network layer is protected (firewall/VPC)
  • Host access is controlled
  • Operating system is patched

Network Security

1. Embedded Deployment (Default)

HeliosDB Nano runs embedded within your application:

use heliosdb_nano::HeliosDB;


// In-process only - no network exposure
let db = HeliosDB::new("./data")?;
let result = db.query("SELECT * FROM users")?;

Security:

  • ✅ No external network attack surface
  • ✅ Direct memory access only
  • ✅ Isolation through process boundaries

2. REST API Protection

When exposing via REST API, implement these controls:

use heliosdb_nano::api::RateLimitConfig;


// Configure rate limiting
let rate_config = RateLimitConfig {
    max_requests: 1000,      // requests per window
    window_duration: Duration::from_secs(60),
    burst_capacity: 100,
    key_extractor: "client_ip", // rate limit by IP
};

Implementation:

  • Place behind API gateway with authentication
  • Enable HTTPS/TLS for all connections
  • Implement rate limiting (enabled by default)
  • Use VPC/network isolation
  • Enable CORS restrictions

Authentication & Authorization

1. Application-Level Authentication

HeliosDB Nano does not provide authentication. Implement at application layer:

// Example: Verify user token before database access
async fn get_user_data(auth_header: &str, db: &HeliosDB) -> Result<Vec<Row>> {
    let user_id = verify_jwt_token(auth_header)?;


    // Query data for authenticated user only
    db.query(&format!("SELECT * FROM users WHERE id = {}", user_id))
}

Best Practices:

  • Use JWT or OAuth2 tokens
  • Validate all requests
  • Implement request signing
  • Rotate credentials regularly

2. Data-Level Access Control

Implement row-level security (RLS) in application:

-- Application enforces user_id filter
SELECT * FROM documents WHERE user_id = $1 AND deleted_at IS NULL;

3. Administrative Access

Restrict administrative operations:

// Only allow admin role to execute DDL
if !user.has_role("admin") {
    return Err("Unauthorized: DDL requires admin role");
}


db.execute("CREATE TABLE audit_log (...)")?;

Data Encryption

1. At-Rest Encryption

HeliosDB Nano stores data in data files. Implement encryption:

# Container/VM encryption options:
# - EBS encryption (AWS)
# - Azure Disk Encryption
# - Linux LUKS encryption
# - Filesystem-level encryption (ext4, XFS)

Implementation:

  • Enable full-disk encryption on deployment infrastructure
  • Use encrypted volumes for data directory
  • Encrypt backups separately
  • Maintain separate encryption keys for backups

2. In-Transit Encryption

Protect data in transit:

// HTTPS configuration (when using REST API)
let https_config = HttpsConfig {
    tls_version: "1.3",
    cipher_suites: vec![
        "TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384",
        "TLS_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256",
    ],
    certificate: "/path/to/cert.pem",
    private_key: "/path/to/key.pem",
};

Best Practices:

  • Use TLS 1.3 minimum
  • Use strong cipher suites
  • Implement certificate pinning in SDKs
  • Rotate certificates before expiration

3. Backup Encryption

Terminal window
# Encrypt backups with GPG
tar czf database_backup.tar.gz ./data/
gpg --cipher-algo AES256 --symmetric database_backup.tar.gz


# Securely store encryption key separately

Access Control

1. File System Permissions

Terminal window
# Restrict data directory permissions
chmod 700 ./data/
chown database_user:database_group ./data/


# Restrict configuration files
chmod 600 ./config.yaml
chown database_user:database_group ./config.yaml

2. Process-Level Isolation

# Docker: Run as non-root user
FROM rust:latest
RUN useradd -m -u 1000 heliosdb
USER heliosdb:heliosdb


# Limit capabilities
RUN setcap -r /usr/local/bin/heliosdb-nano

3. Kubernetes RBAC

apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1
kind: Role
metadata:
  name: heliosdb-reader
rules:
- apiGroups: [""]
  resources: ["configmaps"]
  verbs: ["get", "list"]
- apiGroups: [""]
  resources: ["secrets"]
  resourceNames: ["db-encryption-key"]
  verbs: ["get"]

Error Handling & Logging

1. Secure Error Messages

// GOOD: Generic error to clients
if database_error {
    return Err("Query execution failed");  // No details
}


// BAD: Detailed errors exposed
return Err(format!("SQL syntax error: {}", sql_error));  // Information leak

2. Audit Logging

// Log all administrative operations
audit_log::log_event(AuditEvent {
    timestamp: now(),
    user_id: user.id,
    action: "DROP TABLE users",
    table: "users",
    status: "success",
    source_ip: request.remote_addr(),
});

3. Security Event Logging

// Log security-relevant events
log::warn!("Failed authentication attempt from {}", client_ip);
log::error!("Unauthorized access attempt to table {}", table_name);
log::info!("User {} password changed", user_id);

Deployment Security

1. Environment Configuration

Terminal window
# Use environment variables for sensitive config
export HELIOSDB_DATA_DIR=/data
export HELIOSDB_ENCRYPTION_KEY=$(cat /run/secrets/db_key)
export HELIOSDB_LOG_LEVEL=info


# Never log sensitive values
LOG_LEVEL=info  # Not: LOG_SECRETS=true

2. Secrets Management

# Use secret management system
apiVersion: v1
kind: Secret
metadata:
  name: heliosdb-secrets
type: Opaque
data:
  encryption-key: base64_encoded_key
  backup-password: base64_encoded_password

3. Network Isolation

# Kubernetes: Restrict network access
apiVersion: networking.k8s.io/v1
kind: NetworkPolicy
metadata:
  name: heliosdb-network-policy
spec:
  podSelector:
    matchLabels:
      app: heliosdb
  policyTypes:
  - Ingress
  ingress:
  - from:
    - podSelector:
        matchLabels:
          app: application-tier
    ports:
    - protocol: TCP
      port: 5432

Monitoring & Alerting

1. Security Metrics

// Track security-relevant metrics
metrics::counter!("auth_failures", 1);
metrics::gauge!("active_connections", active_count);
metrics::histogram!("query_execution_time", elapsed);

2. Alert Thresholds

Set up alerts for:

  • Authentication failures > 10/minute
  • Rate limit exceeded > 5 times/hour
  • Unusual query patterns
  • Error rate > 1%
  • Disk space < 10%

3. Log Aggregation

# Example: ELK Stack configuration
filebeat.inputs:
- type: log
  enabled: true
  paths:
    - /var/log/heliosdb/security.log
    - /var/log/heliosdb/audit.log


output.elasticsearch:
  hosts: ["elasticsearch:9200"]

Security Checklist

Pre-Deployment

  • Enable HTTPS/TLS for all network endpoints
  • Configure authentication at application layer
  • Implement rate limiting (enabled by default)
  • Enable full-disk encryption
  • Restrict file system permissions (700 on data dir)
  • Configure audit logging
  • Set up security event alerting
  • Review and approve data access patterns
  • Document data sensitivity levels
  • Implement data retention policies

During Deployment

  • Use encrypted secrets management
  • Deploy behind API gateway with authentication
  • Isolate database service in VPC/network
  • Enable network policies (if using Kubernetes)
  • Verify TLS certificate validity
  • Test rate limiting functionality
  • Verify audit logging works
  • Set up monitoring and alerting
  • Document security configuration
  • Perform security testing

Post-Deployment

  • Monitor authentication logs for anomalies
  • Review rate limit metrics
  • Audit access patterns regularly
  • Rotate credentials on schedule
  • Test backup and recovery procedures
  • Keep logs for compliance period
  • Review security alerts
  • Update security patches promptly
  • Conduct periodic security audits
  • Train team on security procedures

Known Limitations

1. No Built-In Authentication

HeliosDB Nano is embedded and does not provide authentication. Implement at application layer.

2. No Encryption at Rest (Database Level)

Use OS/container-level encryption. HeliosDB Nano stores data in plaintext format locally.

3. No Role-Based Access Control

Implement RBAC at application layer. Database provides no user/role management.

4. Limited Query Audit Trail

Implement application-level audit logging. Database logs are minimal.

5. No Data Masking

Implement data masking at application layer for sensitive fields.

Compliance

GDPR Compliance

  • ✅ Right to be forgotten: Delete row data
  • ✅ Data portability: Export data as SQL
  • ✅ Data minimization: Only store necessary data
  • ⚠️ Audit trail: Implement at application layer
  • ⚠️ Encryption: Use OS-level encryption

HIPAA Compliance

  • ✅ Encryption at rest: Use OS-level encryption
  • ✅ Encryption in transit: Use HTTPS/TLS
  • ⚠️ Access control: Implement at application layer
  • ⚠️ Audit logging: Implement at application layer
  • ⚠️ Business associate agreement: Not applicable (embedded)

SOC 2 Type II

  • ✅ Availability: MVCC and crash recovery
  • ✅ Processing integrity: Transaction support
  • ⚠️ Confidentiality: Encryption at OS level
  • ⚠️ Privacy: Access control at app level

Incident Response

Security Incident Procedure

  1. Detect: Monitor security alerts and logs
  2. Assess: Determine scope and impact
  3. Contain: Limit access to affected data
  4. Investigate: Review audit logs and metrics
  5. Remediate: Apply fixes and patches
  6. Recover: Restore from clean backup if needed
  7. Document: Record incident details for analysis
  8. Communicate: Notify affected parties per policy

Backup Recovery for Compromised Data

Terminal window
# 1. Stop application
systemctl stop application


# 2. Restore from clean backup
cp /backups/clean-database-20250101.backup ./data/


# 3. Verify integrity
heliosdb-nano verify-backup ./data/


# 4. Restart application
systemctl start application

Resources

Support

For security issues, please follow responsible disclosure:

  1. Do NOT open public issues for security vulnerabilities
  2. Email security@heliosdb.com with details
  3. Allow 90 days for response and patching
  4. Coordinate disclosure timeline

Last Updated: December 4, 2025 Version: 3.0.0 Status: Production Ready