Email Journaling on Cloud

Problem Statement: Email Journaling for Compliance and Security

Business Requirements:

1. Compliance: Ensure that all email communications are archived in accordance with regulatory requirements such as GDPR, HIPAA, or Sarbanes-Oxley.
2. Data Security: Protect archived emails from unauthorized access and ensure data integrity.
3. Auditability: Provide a robust auditing mechanism to trace and review email communications for compliance and security purposes.
4. Scalability: The solution should handle a growing volume of email traffic as the business expands.
5. Cost Efficiency: Optimize resource usage to minimize costs while maintaining performance and compliance.

Technical Requirements:

1. Email Archiving: Implement email journaling to capture and store copies of all email communications.
2. Data Storage: Use a secure and scalable storage solution for archived emails.
3. Access Control: Implement strict access controls to ensure that only authorized personnel can access archived emails.
4. Data Encryption: Encrypt emails at rest and in transit to protect sensitive information.
5. Monitoring and Logging: Implement monitoring and logging to track access and modifications to archived emails.
6. Data Retention: Define and enforce data retention policies to comply with regulatory requirements.
7. Disaster Recovery: Implement a disaster recovery plan to ensure that archived emails can be recovered in case of data loss.

Solution Design:

1. Email Journaling:
   • Set up email journaling to capture all incoming and outgoing emails from the email server.
   • Route journaled emails to a secure archiving solution.
2. Data Storage:
   • Use a Secure Storage Service to store archived emails with redundancy and high availability.
   • Implement Data Lifecycle Management to automate retention and deletion policies.
3. Access Control:
   • Use Identity and Access Management (IAM) to enforce strict access controls based on roles and permissions.
   • Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for additional security.
4. Data Encryption:
   • Encrypt emails at rest using Encryption Services.
   • Use Transport Layer Security (TLS) to encrypt emails in transit.
5. Monitoring and Logging:
   • Use Monitoring Services to track access and modifications to archived emails.
   • Implement Logging Services to maintain an audit trail of all actions performed on the archived emails.
6. Disaster Recovery:
   • Set up Backup Services for regular backups of archived emails.
   • Implement Disaster Recovery Plans to ensure email archives can be restored in case of failure.

Example Architecture Diagram

            ┌───────────────┐
            │  Email Server │
            └───────┬───────┘
                    │
            ┌───────▼─────────┐
            │ Email Journaling│
            │   Service       │
            └───────┬─────────┘
                    │
            ┌───────▼───────┐
            │ Secure Storage│
            │   Service     │
            └───────┬───────┘
                    │
      ┌─────────────▼─────────────┐
      │     Data Encryption       │
      │   (At Rest & In Transit)  │
      └─────────────┬─────────────┘
                    │
      ┌─────────────▼─────────────┐
      │ Identity and Access       │
      │    Management (IAM)       │
      └─────────────┬─────────────┘
                    │
      ┌─────────────▼─────────────┐
      │Monitoring & Logging       │
      │        Services           │
      └─────────────┬─────────────┘
                    │
      ┌─────────────▼──────────────┐
      │      Backup and            │
      │   Disaster Recovery        │
      └────────────────────────────┘