Database Migration Blueprint Example

Storing sensitive data in plain text format in a database poses a significant risk to both users and organizations. In the event of a security breach, this data could be accessed and exploited, potentially resulting in identity theft, financial loss, or other serious consequences. Hackers and malicious actors are constantly on the lookout for vulnerabilities in databases containing sensitive data, making it crucial for developers to take steps to secure this information.

The Basis Theory Database Migration blueprint explores how to perform API-based migration of Personal Identifiable Information (PII) from an existing database into Basis Theory platform.

We also support batch file processing for larger datasets or cases where an API-based migration isn't suitable. If you need help with your migration plan - please reach out.

Run this Example

Requirements:

• Docker Desktop and Docker Compose;
• Node.js LTS;
• Yarn.

Install dependencies by running:

yarn install

Create a Private Application

To securely import data via Server-to-Server, you'll need a Private Application to grant you an API Key used to authenticate against Basis Theory services. Click here to create one.

This will create an application with the token:create permission. Copy the API Key to your .env file:

BASIS_THEORY_API_KEY=test_123456789
DATABASE_URL="postgresql://postgres:basistheory!@localhost:5432/postgres?schema=public"

Replace the test_123456789 value with your recently created API Key.

Initialize the Database

Start the PostgreSQL docker container by running:

docker compose up -d

And seed the database:

yarn prisma db seed

Migrate the sensitive data

Run the following command to execute the sensitive data migration:

yarn start

Key Integration Spots

File	Description
migrate.ts	Iterates through the Person table records using a cursor and tokenizes sensitive data columns ssn, email and phoneNumber.