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PII Catalog for AWS RDS with IAM Connect

Andrios Robert

• 1 min read

The query hit like a hammer: sensitive data flagged, embedded in rows, streaming straight from AWS RDS. You need to know what’s there, classify it, and lock it down — without slowing the system or breaking auth.

A PII Catalog for AWS RDS built to work with IAM Connect stitches these steps together into one clear workflow. Identify personally identifiable information across databases, centralize classification, and enforce least-privilege access through IAM roles. All without exposing raw data to the wrong eyes.

AWS RDS stores customer tables on engines like MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Aurora. PII often hides in columns for names, emails, addresses, or payment details. A strong catalog doesn’t scan blindly — it maps schema metadata, inspects column patterns, and tags results. The outcome is a searchable inventory of all PII assets across RDS instances.

Integration with IAM Connect matters. Instead of static keys or hardcoded credentials, IAM roles handle authentication between the catalog service and AWS RDS endpoints. This eliminates secret sprawl, reduces attack surfaces, and lets you apply policy-based access. You can link identity permissions with catalog queries so only approved workflows touch tagged PII columns.

To set this up:

  1. Deploy a PII catalog service in the same AWS region as your RDS instances.
  2. Grant IAM roles with rds:DescribeDBInstances, rds:DescribeDBClusters, and limited query privileges.
  3. Configure the catalog to connect using IAM Connect, avoiding plain-text passwords.
  4. Schedule scans to refresh PII classification as schemas change.
  5. Review IAM policies and tighten them for least privilege on tagged data sets.

The payoff is speed and control. You get real-time knowledge of where PII lives, governed by identity-based rules, ready to be audited at any moment. Security teams can run reports, devops can troubleshoot, and compliance stays confident.

See how this works in minutes. Visit hoop.dev and connect your AWS RDS with IAM in a live, running PII catalog today.