Geode is designed to help organizations meet stringent regulatory compliance requirements across multiple frameworks including GDPR, HIPAA, SOC2, PCI DSS, and industry-specific regulations. This comprehensive guide covers how Geode’s security features support compliance objectives and best practices for deploying compliant graph database systems.

Compliance Framework Overview

Modern enterprises must comply with multiple regulatory frameworks simultaneously. Geode provides the technical controls and capabilities needed to satisfy requirements across:

  • GDPR: European data protection and privacy regulation
  • HIPAA: US healthcare data protection
  • SOC2: Service organization security controls
  • PCI DSS: Payment card industry data security
  • ISO 27001: Information security management
  • CCPA: California Consumer Privacy Act
  • FedRAMP: US federal cloud security

GDPR Compliance

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) imposes strict requirements on organizations that process personal data of EU residents. Geode provides technical capabilities to support GDPR compliance:

Right to Access (Article 15)

Data subjects have the right to obtain confirmation of whether their personal data is being processed. Geode supports this through comprehensive query capabilities:

-- Retrieve all personal data for a specific data subject
MATCH (p:Person {email: $data_subject_email})
OPTIONAL MATCH (p)-[r]->(related)
RETURN p, r, related;

-- Find all locations where personal data appears
MATCH (n)
WHERE n.email = $data_subject_email
   OR n.ssn = $data_subject_ssn
   OR n.phone = $data_subject_phone
RETURN labels(n), properties(n);

Right to Erasure (Article 17)

Data subjects can request deletion of their personal data. Geode supports complete and auditable deletion:

-- Delete all personal data for a data subject
MATCH (p:Person {email: $data_subject_email})
DETACH DELETE p;

-- Anonymize data while preserving graph structure
MATCH (p:Person {email: $data_subject_email})
SET p.email = 'anonymized@deleted.local',
    p.name = 'Deleted User',
    p.ssn = NULL,
    p.phone = NULL,
    p.deleted_at = current_timestamp();

All deletion operations are logged in audit trails with:

  • Timestamp of deletion
  • User who performed the deletion
  • Data subject identifier
  • Reason for deletion (if provided)
  • Confirmation of cascading deletions

Right to Data Portability (Article 20)

Data subjects can receive their personal data in a structured, machine-readable format:

-- Export all personal data in structured format
MATCH (p:Person {email: $data_subject_email})
OPTIONAL MATCH (p)-[r]->(related)
RETURN {
  personal_info: properties(p),
  relationships: collect({
    type: type(r),
    target: labels(related),
    properties: properties(r)
  })
} AS data_export;

Data Protection by Design (Article 25)

Geode implements privacy-enhancing features by default:

  • Encryption at rest: All data encrypted using AES-256-GCM
  • Encryption in transit: TLS 1.3 for all connections
  • Pseudonymization: Support for hashed identifiers
  • Data minimization: Field-level access control limits exposure
  • Purpose limitation: Row-level security enforces usage boundaries

Records of Processing Activities (Article 30)

Comprehensive audit logging documents all processing activities:

# Configure GDPR-compliant audit logging
geode serve --audit-log-level=compliance \
  --audit-retention-days=2555 \
  --audit-events=data_access,data_modification,data_deletion,data_export \
  --audit-include-legal-basis=true

Audit logs capture:

  • What personal data was accessed
  • When it was accessed
  • Who accessed it
  • Purpose of access (via session metadata)
  • Legal basis for processing

Breach Notification (Article 33)

Geode’s security monitoring helps detect and respond to data breaches:

# Monitor for unusual access patterns
jq 'select(.event_type == "authorization_failure")' audit.log \
  | jq -s 'group_by(.user.ip_address) | map(select(length > 10))'

# Identify mass data exports
jq 'select(.operation.rows_returned > 1000 and .operation.type == "SELECT")' audit.log

HIPAA Compliance

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act requires covered entities to protect health information. Geode provides technical safeguards for HIPAA compliance:

Administrative Safeguards

164.308(a)(1)(ii)(D) - Information System Activity Review

# Enable comprehensive audit logging for HIPAA
geode serve --audit-log-level=comprehensive \
  --audit-phi-access=true \
  --audit-retention-days=2555 \
  --audit-log-encryption=aes-256-gcm

164.308(a)(3) - Workforce Security

Implement role-based access control:

-- Create roles for different workforce members
CREATE ROLE physician;
CREATE ROLE nurse;
CREATE ROLE billing_clerk;
CREATE ROLE researcher;

-- Grant minimum necessary permissions
GRANT SELECT ON Patient TO physician;
GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE ON MedicalRecord TO physician;
GRANT SELECT ON Patient TO nurse WHERE assigned_nurse = current_user();
GRANT SELECT ON BillingInfo TO billing_clerk;

Physical Safeguards

164.310(d) - Device and Media Controls

# Secure backup with encryption
geode backup create --encryption=aes-256-gcm \
  --output=/secure/backup/location \
  --verify-integrity=true

# Secure disposal of old data
geode data-purge --before-date=2019-01-01 \
  --secure-delete=7-pass \
  --audit-log=true

Technical Safeguards

164.312(a)(1) - Access Control

Unique user identification and automatic logoff:

# Configure session security
geode serve --session-timeout=900 \
  --require-unique-identifiers=true \
  --automatic-logoff=true

164.312(b) - Audit Controls

# Comprehensive audit controls
geode serve --audit-events=all \
  --audit-log-immutable=true \
  --audit-log-integrity-check=hourly

164.312(c) - Integrity Controls

Cryptographic checksums for data integrity:

# Enable integrity verification
geode serve --data-integrity-checks=true \
  --checksum-algorithm=sha256 \
  --verify-on-read=true

164.312(d) - Person or Entity Authentication

Multi-factor authentication support:

# Require MFA for PHI access
geode serve --require-mfa=true \
  --mfa-providers=totp,webauthn \
  --mfa-grace-period=0

164.312(e) - Transmission Security

TLS 1.3 encryption for all transmissions:

# Enforce secure transmission
geode serve --tls-min-version=1.3 \
  --tls-cipher-suites=TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384 \
  --require-client-certificates=true

Minimum Necessary Standard

Implement minimum necessary access:

-- Row-level security for minimum necessary
CREATE POLICY minimum_necessary_physicians
  ON Patient
  FOR SELECT
  TO physician
  USING (assigned_physician = current_user());

CREATE POLICY minimum_necessary_researchers
  ON Patient
  FOR SELECT
  TO researcher
  USING (patient_id IN (SELECT patient_id FROM research_cohort WHERE researcher = current_user()))
  WITH COLUMNS (age, diagnosis, treatment)  -- Exclude name, SSN, address

SOC 2 Compliance

Service Organization Control 2 focuses on security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. Geode supports all five trust service criteria:

Security (Common Criteria)

CC6.1 - Logical and Physical Access Controls

# Implement comprehensive access controls
geode serve --rbac-enabled=true \
  --require-authentication=true \
  --password-policy=strict \
  --session-security=high

CC6.2 - Identification and Authentication

# Strong authentication requirements
geode serve --password-min-length=14 \
  --password-complexity=high \
  --password-rotation-days=90 \
  --lockout-threshold=5 \
  --lockout-duration=30min

CC6.6 - Logical and Physical Access Controls - Vulnerabilities

Regular security updates and vulnerability management:

# Check for security updates
geode version --check-updates --security-only

# Enable security monitoring
geode serve --security-monitoring=enabled \
  --vulnerability-scanning=continuous

CC7.2 - System Monitoring - Detection of Security Events

# Real-time security monitoring
geode serve --security-events=alert \
  --alert-channels=email,pagerduty,slack \
  --alert-threshold=medium

Availability

A1.2 - Environmental Protections

# High availability configuration
geode serve --mode=cluster \
  --replication-factor=3 \
  --auto-failover=true \
  --health-check-interval=10s

Processing Integrity

PI1.5 - Data Validation

-- Schema constraints ensure data integrity
CREATE CONSTRAINT valid_ssn
  ON (p:Patient)
  ASSERT p.ssn MATCHES '^\d{3}-\d{2}-\d{4}$';

CREATE CONSTRAINT valid_email
  ON (u:User)
  ASSERT u.email MATCHES '^[a-zA-Z0-9._%+-]+@[a-zA-Z0-9.-]+\.[a-zA-Z]{2,}$';

Confidentiality

C1.2 - Encryption of Confidential Information

# Comprehensive encryption
geode serve --encryption-at-rest=aes-256-gcm \
  --encryption-in-transit=tls-1.3 \
  --key-rotation-days=90 \
  --encryption-key-provider=hsm

Privacy

P4.2 - Obtaining Consent

Track consent in the graph:

-- Model consent in the graph
CREATE (p:Person {id: $person_id})
CREATE (c:Consent {
  purpose: 'marketing',
  granted_at: current_timestamp(),
  granted_by: $person_id,
  expires_at: timestamp() + duration('P1Y'),
  can_revoke: true
})
CREATE (p)-[:GRANTED]->(c);

-- Enforce consent in queries
MATCH (p:Person {id: $person_id})-[:GRANTED]->(c:Consent)
WHERE c.purpose = 'marketing'
  AND c.expires_at > current_timestamp()
RETURN p;

PCI DSS Compliance

For organizations handling payment card data, Geode supports PCI DSS requirements:

Requirement 2: Strong Cryptography 

# PCI DSS compliant encryption
geode serve --encryption-algorithm=aes-256-gcm \
  --key-length=256 \
  --tls-version=1.3

Requirement 8: Strong Access Control 

# PCI DSS access controls
geode serve --password-min-length=15 \
  --password-complexity=strict \
  --mfa-required=true \
  --session-timeout=900

Requirement 10: Audit Logging 

# PCI DSS audit requirements
geode serve --audit-log-level=comprehensive \
  --audit-log-tamper-proof=true \
  --audit-retention-days=365 \
  --audit-review-frequency=daily

Data Masking for PCI 

-- Mask credit card numbers in logs and queries
MATCH (txn:Transaction)
RETURN txn.id,
       substring(txn.card_number, 0, 4) + '********' + substring(txn.card_number, -4, 4) AS masked_card,
       txn.amount;

Compliance Monitoring

Automated Compliance Checks 

# Run compliance validation
geode compliance-check --framework=gdpr,hipaa,soc2 \
  --report-format=json \
  --output=compliance-report.json

# Example output:
# {
#   "framework": "GDPR",
#   "status": "compliant",
#   "checks": {
#     "encryption_at_rest": "pass",
#     "encryption_in_transit": "pass",
#     "audit_logging": "pass",
#     "data_retention": "pass",
#     "access_controls": "pass"
#   },
#   "recommendations": []
# }

Compliance Reporting

Generate compliance reports for auditors:

# Generate SOC 2 compliance report
geode compliance-report --framework=soc2 \
  --start-date=2025-01-01 \
  --end-date=2025-12-31 \
  --include-evidence=true \
  --output=soc2-report-2025.pdf

# Generate GDPR data processing report
geode compliance-report --framework=gdpr \
  --report-type=processing-activities \
  --include-legal-basis=true \
  --output=gdpr-article-30-report.pdf

Best Practices

  1. Defense in Depth: Implement multiple layers of security controls
  2. Regular Audits: Conduct periodic compliance audits and gap assessments
  3. Documentation: Maintain detailed documentation of security controls and processes
  4. Training: Ensure all users understand their compliance responsibilities
  5. Monitoring: Implement continuous compliance monitoring and alerting
  6. Incident Response: Develop and test incident response procedures
  7. Third-Party Risk: Assess compliance of all third-party integrations
  8. Data Lifecycle: Implement compliant data retention and deletion policies
  9. Encryption Everywhere: Encrypt data at rest, in transit, and in use
  10. Principle of Least Privilege: Grant minimum necessary access

Compliance Certifications

Geode undergoes regular third-party audits and maintains certifications:

  • SOC 2 Type II: Annual audit by independent CPA firms
  • ISO 27001: Information security management certification
  • FedRAMP: Authorized for US federal government use
  • HIPAA: Business Associate Agreement available
  • GDPR: Data Processing Agreement available

Contact [email protected] for certification documentation.

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