AlphaPulse Security Documentation

Comprehensive documentation for AlphaPulse - an AI-powered algorithmic trading system designed to operate as an automated hedge fund.

AlphaPulse Security Documentation

Overview

AlphaPulse implements a comprehensive security architecture designed to protect sensitive trading data, API credentials, and user information. This document outlines the security features, best practices, and configuration guidelines.

Secret Management

Architecture

AlphaPulse uses a multi-layered secret management system that supports different providers based on the deployment environment:

  1. Development: Environment variables with encrypted local file fallback
  2. Staging: HashiCorp Vault with environment variable fallback
  3. Production: AWS Secrets Manager with environment variable fallback

Secret Types

The system manages several types of secrets:

Configuration

Environment Variables

Create a .env file based on .env.example:

cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your actual values

Required environment variables:

AWS Secrets Manager (Production)

For production deployments:

  1. Configure AWS credentials: 
    export AWS_REGION=us-east-1
export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=your_access_key
export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=your_secret_key
  2. Store secrets in AWS Secrets Manager: 
    from alpha_pulse.utils.secrets_manager import AWSSecretsManagerProvider
   
provider = AWSSecretsManagerProvider()
provider.set_secret("database_credentials", {
    "host": "prod-db.example.com",
    "user": "alphapulse",
    "password": "secure_password"
})

HashiCorp Vault (Staging)

For staging environments:

  1. Configure Vault access: 
    export VAULT_URL=https://vault.your-domain.com
export VAULT_TOKEN=your_vault_token
  2. Store secrets in Vault: 
    vault kv put secret/alphapulse/database_credentials \
    host=staging-db.example.com \
    user=alphapulse \
    password=secure_password

Migration from Hardcoded Credentials

Use the migration script to transition from hardcoded credentials:

# Create template
python scripts/migrate_secrets.py --create-template

# Migrate existing credentials
python scripts/migrate_secrets.py --method env --output .env.secure

# Or migrate to encrypted files
python scripts/migrate_secrets.py --method encrypted --secrets-dir .secrets

Authentication & Authorization

JWT Authentication

AlphaPulse uses JWT tokens for API authentication:

Password Security

User Roles & Permissions

Three default roles with granular permissions:

  1. Admin: Full system access
    • All viewer and trader permissions
    • User management
    • System configuration
  2. Trader: Trading operations
    • View metrics and alerts
    • Execute trades
    • Manage portfolio
  3. Viewer: Read-only access
    • View metrics
    • View portfolio
    • View trades

API Security

Data Protection

Encryption at Rest

AlphaPulse implements comprehensive field-level encryption for all sensitive data:

Encrypted Data Categories

Trading Data:

User Data:

For detailed implementation, see:

Encryption in Transit

Audit & Compliance

Audit Logging

All security-relevant events are logged:

Log Format

{
  "timestamp": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
  "event_type": "secret_access",
  "user": "admin",
  "resource": "binance_api_key",
  "action": "read",
  "result": "success",
  "ip_address": "192.168.1.100",
  "user_agent": "AlphaPulse/1.0"
}

Compliance

AlphaPulse security architecture supports:

Security Best Practices

Development

  1. Never commit secrets to version control
  2. Use .env.example as template
  3. Rotate development credentials regularly
  4. Use separate credentials for each developer

Deployment

  1. Use different credentials for each environment
  2. Implement secret rotation policies
  3. Monitor secret access patterns
  4. Regular security audits

Incident Response

  1. Detection: Monitor audit logs for anomalies
  2. Containment: Immediate credential rotation
  3. Investigation: Analyze audit trail
  4. Recovery: Restore from secure backups
  5. Lessons Learned: Update security policies

Security Checklist

Pre-deployment

Post-deployment

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

  1. Secret Not Found 
    Error: Secret 'database_credentials' not found
    • Check environment variables
    • Verify secret exists in provider
    • Check fallback providers
  2. Authentication Failed 
    Error: JWT validation failed
    • Verify JWT secret is configured
    • Check token expiration
    • Validate token format
  3. Permission Denied 
    Error: Insufficient permissions for operation
    • Check user role
    • Verify permission mapping
    • Review audit logs

Debug Mode

Enable debug logging for troubleshooting:

import logging
logging.getLogger("alpha_pulse.utils.secrets_manager").setLevel(logging.DEBUG)
logging.getLogger("alpha_pulse.api.auth").setLevel(logging.DEBUG)

Contact

For security issues or questions: