Security Architecture
Built to meet government data requirements
Art Trackers was designed from the ground up for government operational requirements: strict data isolation between agencies, immutable audit records, and full data portability. Here is how that works in practice.
Agency data isolation
Row Level Security (RLS) is enforced at the PostgreSQL database level — not in the application layer. A staff member from one agency cannot read, write, or query records belonging to another agency. No application bug, misconfiguration, or elevated session can cross that boundary.
Every artwork, condition report, movement log, and audit event is scoped to a single organization_id. Queries that do not include the correct agency scope return zero rows — not an error, not redacted data, zero rows.
Immutable provenance records
Provenance records are append-only. A PostgreSQL trigger (prevent_mutation) blocks any UPDATE or DELETE statement on ownership history, verification events, NFC scan logs, and audit logs. Once a record is written, it cannot be altered — not by application code, not by an administrator, not by a service-role client.
This is legal-grade chain of custody. Any record that exists in Art Trackers today will exist in exactly the same form in ten years.
Data ownership and portability
Your data belongs to your agency. At any point — including during a pilot, at contract end, or during a dispute — you can request a full structured export of every artwork record, image, provenance document, condition report, and audit log.
Art Trackers does not hold your data hostage. Export is included in all plans at no additional charge.
Infrastructure and uptime
Art Trackers runs on Supabase (Postgres) and Vercel, both SOC 2 Type II certified infrastructure providers. Automated daily backups. 99.9% uptime SLA. Global CDN for public-facing artwork pages.
Authentication is handled by Clerk, which provides MFA, session management, and audit-grade login logging without storing credentials in the Art Trackers database.
Why Art Trackers
How Art Trackers compares
| Capability | Art Trackers | Spreadsheets | Artlogic / TMS | Generic Asset Tools |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public artwork layer (NFC / QR) | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| NFC field tagging | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Government compliance reports | ✓ | ✕ | Partial | ✕ |
| Artist records & biography | ✓ | Partial | ✓ | ✕ |
| Community engagement data | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Government procurement-ready | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | Partial |
| Immutable provenance records | ✓ | ✕ | Partial | ✕ |
| Fixed-price pilot contract | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
PostgreSQL Row Level Security enforced at database level
Append-only audit and provenance records via trigger
SOC 2 Type II certified infrastructure (Supabase, Vercel, Clerk)
Full structured data export included in all plans
MFA and session audit logging via Clerk
Automated daily backups with point-in-time recovery
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