Case Study – Media

About the customer

Media Customer, one of India’s fastest-growing media houses, operated multiple high-traffic WordPress websites hosted on Microsoft Azure. These sites shared a single MySQL database and ran on Linux-based virtual machines using Apache, Nginx, PHP, and Varnish Cache.

However, the infrastructure lacked centralized monitoring, and secure credential management. The absence of automation and fragmented operational practices led to performance bottlenecks, increased downtime risk, and limited visibility into system health.

Challenges

Performance & Latency: – Users faced slow page loads and inconsistent performance during peak hours due to the absence of a global content delivery strategy. Static assets were served inefficiently, with no CDN integration, high latency for distant users, and frequent server overloads.

Security Vulnerabilities: – The application was exposed to threats like DDoS, SQL injection, and XSS due to weak perimeter security. It lacked a firewall, threat detection, and proper access controls, leaving public endpoints vulnerable.

Data Protection & Backup: – No automated backup or recovery strategy existed, risking data loss and extended downtime. Critical data lacked scheduled backups, a disaster recovery plan, and automated snapshot management.

Monitoring & Logging Deficiencies: – Without centralized monitoring or logging, detecting issues and auditing activity was difficult. There were no real-time alerts, performance insights, or audit trails for system and user actions.

Access Management Complexity: – Managing access across multiple AWS services was challenging due to weak IAM practices. Over-permissive roles, no RBAC, and missing MFA increased the risk of unauthorized access.

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Solution

  • Performance & Latency Optimization: – Implemented Amazon CloudFront as a global CDN to cache and deliver static assets closer to users, reducing latency and improving load times. Integrated Amazon S3 for efficient static content hosting.
  • Security Hardening: – Deployed AWS Web Application Firewall (WAF) protect against SQL injection, and cross-site scripting attacks. Configured Security Groups for controlled inbound/outbound traffic. Implemented IAM policies for principle of least privilege access.
  • Data Protection & Backup Strategy: – Enabled automated backups using Amazon RDS automated snapshots and AWS Backup for centralized backup management. Ensured encryption at rest (KMS) and in transit (SSL/TLS) for all sensitive data.
  • Monitoring & Logging Enhancement: – Integrated Amazon CloudWatch for real-time system and application monitoring with custom metrics and alerts.
  • Access Management & Governance: – Strengthened access security by implementing IAM Roles and Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) for services and users. Enforced Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
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Solution Diagram

  • Amazon CloudFront – Global CDN to cache and deliver static assets closer to users, reducing latency.
  • Elastic Load Balancer (ALB) – Distributes incoming traffic evenly across instances for performance stability.
  • AWS WAF (Web Application Firewall) – Protects applications from common web exploits (SQLi, XSS, etc.).
  • AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) – Manages granular access control using least privilege principle.
  • AWS CloudTrail – Tracks all user and API activity for auditing and compliance.
  • Amazon RDS Automated Backups – Enables automatic daily backups for databases.
  • AWS Backup – Centralized backup management across AWS resources.
  • Amazon CloudWatch – Monitors system metrics, sets alarms, and provides dashboards for visibility.

Outcome

Improved Performance & Reduced Latency: With Amazon CloudFront and Elastic Load Balancer (ALB), application performance improved significantly. Static assets are now served from edge locations worldwide, reducing latency by up to 60%, and load balancing ensures consistent response times even during peak traffic.


Enhanced Application Security: – Deployment of AWS WAF and IAM strengthened the security posture. The WAF now filters malicious traffic and blocks common web exploits (SQL injection, XSS), reducing vulnerability exposure. IAM policies enforce least-privilege access, minimizing risks of unauthorized access and privilege escalation.


Increased Operational Visibility & Accountability: – With AWS CloudTrail and Amazon CloudWatch, system monitoring and auditing have become proactive and data-driven. Real-time alerts, performance dashboards, and detailed API activity logs improved incident response time by over 40%, enabling quick troubleshooting and compliance reporting.


Reliable Data Protection & Disaster Recovery: – Implementation of Amazon RDS Automated Backups and AWS Backup ensured consistent, automated data protection. Daily snapshots and centralized backup management eliminated manual backup tasks and reduced recovery time objectives (RTO) from days to 1 hour. Data durability and availability now meet enterprise-grade standards.


Strengthened Governance & Compliance: – Continuous activity tracking through AWS CloudTrail has established a strong audit trail for all user and API interactions. This enhanced compliance with internal and external security standards while providing full visibility into system operations.

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