Title: Project S.E.C.R.E.T.S - Secure, Encrypted, Checksumed, Repudiation, End-to-End, Transfer, Service.

Author(s): Ciaran Strutt.
Reviewed by: Unfortunately no one.

Executive Summary

We have a significant amount of sensitive information related to our weapon systems and logistics.

Currently, this information is stored insecurely as paper documents in an office cabinet which led to service impacts for customers (COE00001-COE00005).

To address this issue we propose designing and implementing a secure encrypted secret store called Project S.E.C.R.E.T.S.

This system will allow access to the information via secure terminals while maintaining paper documents as offline, off-site backups for disaster recovery purposes.

Background and Problem Statement

The current method of storing sensitive information in a cabinet is insecure and prone to human error as seen in COE00001 when the cabinet was temporarily lost during an office move.

Additionally the origin of these documents can be traced back to a subsidiary company acquired in 1995.

This revealed an outdated and inefficient process for handling sensitive information. This proposal aims to eliminate these risks and streamline the storage and retrieval of our sensitive data.

Goals and Non-Goals

Goals:

Design and implement a secure, encrypted secret store to replace the current storage method.
Ensure sensitive information is accessible through secure terminals.
Storage of arbitrary length text.

Non-Goals:

Eliminating the use of paper documents entirely.
Solving the problem of how to get paper documents into a digital format for storage.

Proposed Solution and Design Details

Project S.E.C.R.E.T.S will be a secure encrypted storage system featuring:

A centralized, encrypted database to store sensitive information.
Role-based access control (RBAC) to ensure only authorized personnel can access the data.
Secure, encrypted communication between terminals and the database using end-to-end encryption.
Regular checksums and audits to ensure data integrity and prevent tampering.
Integration with our existing systems and workflows.
Secret rotation.

Alternatives Considered

Using a third-party secret management solution: This option was considered but dismissed due to the potential risks of relying on an external provider for critical security functions.
Implementing a physical access control system for the existing cabinet storage: This would not address the risks associated with human error, nor would it streamline the retrieval process. Dave shall remain the cabinet custodian.

Risks and Mitigations

Data breaches or unauthorized access: Implement strong encryption, access controls, secret rotation and auditing mechanisms to minimize the risk of data breaches.

Implementation timeline delays: Allocate sufficient engineering resources and follow a well-defined project management process to ensure timely project completion.

Integration issues with existing systems: Involve stakeholders from relevant teams to ensure seamless integration with existing infrastructure and workflows.

Timeline and Milestones

Assign engineering headcount to Project S.E.C.R.E.T.S (Month 1).
Complete system design and architecture (Month 2).
Develop and test the secret storage system (Month 3-4).
Integrate with existing systems and workflows (Month 5).
Deploy the system and train users (Month 6).

Open Issues

Determining the specific encryption algorithms and key management processes to be used.
Assessing the compatibility of Project S.E.C.R.E.T.S with our existing IT infrastructure.
We do not have an existing identity service to rely on as a source of truth for role based access to secrets.