Enhancing data security with file integrity monitoring

Organizations can enhance data security and compliance by implementing file integrity monitoring (FIM) strategies using tools like Watchdog, an open-source Python library that tracks file system changes. This approach is particularly vital for protecting personally identifiable information (PII) within applications, as it allows for the detection and response to unauthorized data modifications, potentially indicating cyber attacks. Platforms like Upsun emphasize a strong separation between code and data, leveraging Git to ensure that infrastructure changes are securely committed and tracked. A custom notification system can be developed to alert security teams of file system events, using Watchdog to monitor specific directories and send notifications via webhooks. Despite these measures, it remains crucial to sanitize user inputs to prevent SQL injections and other vulnerabilities. The framework described enables organizations to remain compliant by triggering alerts for changes to sensitive data, though it should be adapted to minimize false positives and ensure relevant events are captured effectively.