deepgram-data-handling

Deepgram Data Handling

Contents

• Overview
• Prerequisites
• Instructions
• Output
• Error Handling
• Examples
• Resources

Overview

Best practices for handling audio data and transcriptions with Deepgram, including secure upload with encryption, PII redaction, data retention policies, GDPR compliance, and audit logging.

Prerequisites

• Understanding of data protection regulations
• Cloud storage configured (S3/GCS)
• Encryption capabilities (KMS)
• Data retention policies defined

Instructions

Step 1: Implement Secure Upload

Validate audio format (WAV/MP3/FLAC headers), encrypt with AES-256-GCM via KMS data keys, upload to S3 with server-side encryption, and set expiration metadata.

Step 2: Configure PII Redaction

Apply regex-based redaction for SSN, credit card, phone, email, and date of birth patterns. Also use Deepgram's built-in redact option for PCI/SSN/numbers.

Step 3: Set Up Data Retention

Define policies: standard (30 days), legal hold (7 years), HIPAA (6 years). Auto-enforce retention by scanning S3 objects and deleting expired items in batches.

Step 4: Implement GDPR Right to Erasure

Process deletion requests by removing transcripts from database, audio files from S3, and user metadata. Log all deletions for audit. Support data export for portability.

Step 5: Enable Audit Logging

Log all data access events with tamper-evident hashing. Forward to external SIEM if configured.

See detailed implementation for advanced patterns.

Output

• Secure audio upload with KMS encryption
• PII redaction (regex + Deepgram built-in)
• Automated data retention enforcement
• GDPR erasure and data export
• Tamper-evident audit logging

Error Handling

Issue	Cause	Solution
Invalid audio format	Wrong file type	Validate magic bytes before upload
Encryption failure	KMS unavailable	Retry with backoff, alert ops
Retention miss	Cron failure	Monitor retention job, add alerts
GDPR incomplete	Partial deletion	Transaction-based deletion with rollback

Examples

Data Lifecycle

Upload -> Process -> Store -> Retain -> Archive -> Delete
  |         |         |        |         |          |
Encrypt  Transcribe  Save   Review   Compress   Secure Delete

Compliance Requirements

Regulation	Key Requirements
GDPR	Data minimization, right to deletion, consent
HIPAA	PHI protection, access controls, audit logs
SOC 2	Security controls, availability, confidentiality
PCI DSS	Data encryption, access logging

Resources

• Deepgram Security
• GDPR Compliance Guide
• HIPAA Compliance