Security & Data Architecture

1. Architecture Overview

SumGST is engineered to handle sensitive tax records, e-commerce transaction ledgers, and financial filings for Indian Chartered Accountants and their clients. Our security philosophy prioritizes provable tenant isolation, minimal privilege surfaces, and strong cryptographic protection across all application layers.

2. Multi-Tenant Isolation & Scoping

Data separation is enforced at the core data-access layer rather than left to client-side filtering:

• Tenant-Scoped Queries: Every database query requires an authenticated firm context (`tenantId`). Cross-firm data leakage is structurally blocked by automated schema enforcement.
• Customer Role Boundaries: Business customers accessing the customer portal are strictly bound to their assigned mobile identifier and specific linked GSTINs. They cannot view records from any other taxpayer or firm.
• Administrative Access Restrictions: Platform operations have separate authentication flows and cannot modify firm financial work papers without explicit, time-bounded support grants.

3. Cryptography & Encryption Standards

• Encryption in Transit: All HTTP connections are strictly upgraded to HTTPS with TLS 1.3 and TLS 1.2. HSTS (HTTP Strict Transport Security) is enforced to prevent downgrade attacks.
• Encryption at Rest: All application databases, persistent file storage volumes, and asynchronous job queues are encrypted at rest using industry-standard AES-256 encryption.
• Credential Storage: User passwords are never stored in plaintext. Credentials are cryptographically hashed using modern salted algorithms with adaptive work factors.

4. Infrastructure & Cloud Reliability

• Regional Cloud Hosting: SumGST infrastructure is deployed in high-availability enterprise AWS data centres located within the assigned project region.
• Automated Daily Backups: Database snapshots and point-in-time recovery configurations run on automated schedules to protect against data corruption and disaster scenarios.
• Authentication Rate Limiting: All authentication and password endpoints employ strict IP- and account-level rate limiters to prevent credential stuffing and brute-force attacks.

5. Audit Trails & Revision Immutability

Professional review requires demonstrable accountability:

• Revision Freezing: When a return preparation working summary is marked for review or approval, the revision snapshot is timestamped and recorded.
• Filing Separation: Statutory filing status cannot be marked automatically. It requires explicit CA confirmation and records the filing evidence timestamp.
• Customer Confirmations: When a client completes their monthly uploads, an immutable completion receipt is generated and surfaced to the CA firm workspace.

6. Data Deletion & Firm Offboarding

Your firm maintains complete ownership of your data. If you decide to discontinue using SumGST:

• You can export all client records, reconciliation tables, and GSTR-1 summaries in standard XLSX and JSON formats.
• Upon account decommissioning, your database records and stored files are scheduled for permanent, irreversible deletion across active storage and backup archives.

7. Security Inquiries & Vulnerability Reporting

We welcome reports from security researchers and practitioners. If you believe you have identified a vulnerability or have specific compliance questions, please contact our security engineering team:

Security Contact: security@sumgst.com
SumGST Engineering: Hyavi Technologies