Payroll Guard

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Inspiration

🚨 The Problem: Payroll Diversion Attacks

Hackers aren't just stealing passwords anymore; they are bypassing login gates completely using session hijacking and social engineering. Once inside a standard HR portal, they silently change an employee's Direct Deposit routing number, effectively stealing their entire paycheck.

Current Solutions Fail Because:

  1. They rely on "annoying" binary security (MFA every time, causing user fatigue).
  2. Their audit logs are stored in standard databases—meaning a hacker (or compromised admin) can just delete the log to cover their tracks.
  3. Security analysts are flooded with raw data and false-positive "rules", lacking the context to act quickly.

✨ The Solution: PayrollGuard

PayrollGuard wraps the highest-value action (the money transfer) in an intelligent, friction-less Zero-Trust vault.

1. 🔗 Cryptographically Secure Audit Trails (Tamper-Proof)

We implemented a blockchain-inspired hash-chaining system for all security events. Every Direct Deposit change is cryptographically hashed with the signature of the previous event.

  • If a bad actor alters or deletes a single database record to hide a fraudulent routing number, the entire chain breaks.
  • The Admin Dashboard instantly detects the broken hash and flags the tampering. It is mathematically impossible to silently cover your tracks in PayrollGuard.

2. 🧠 Context-Aware AI Threat Engine

Instead of bombarding security teams with raw SQL data and "Error Code 402" alerts, we use Google Gemini AI.

  • Gemini translates complex threat telemetry (IP distances, velocity, device fingerprints) into human-readable attack narratives.
  • Analysts see: "Medium Risk: Employee logged in from a novel IP in a different country and attempted a direct deposit change within 10 minutes of a password reset."
  • Incident response drops from hours of investigation to seconds of comprehension.

3. 🛡️ Dynamic, Frictionless "Zero Trust" Risk Scoring

We balance intense security with seamless user experience:

  • Low Risk (Familiar device & IP): Auto-approved. Zero friction.
  • Medium Risk (Suspicious velocity): Dynamically injects an OTP email challenge or requires Manager Multi-Approval routing.
  • High Risk (Clear Account Takeover): Instantly blocks the action, locks the account, and automatically generates a high-priority Fraud Ticket for the security team.

💻 Tech Stack

  • Frontend Engine: React 18, Vite, Vanilla CSS (Glassmorphism UI)
  • Backend Architecture: Node.js, Express.js
  • Database: MongoDB & Mongoose (NoSQL Document Store)
  • AI Integration: Google Gemini API (Threat contextualization)
  • Cryptography: Node Crypto (SHA-256 Hash Chaining)
  • Authentication: JWT & OTP verifications

🚀 Running Locally (Development)

Prerequisites

  • Node.js (v18+)
  • MongoDB (Local or Atlas URI)
  • Google Gemini API Key

1. Backend Setup

bash cd backend npm install

Create a .env file in the backend directory:

PORT=5000

MONGO_URI=your_mongodb_connection_string

JWT_SECRET=your_super_secret_jwt_key

GEMINI_API_KEY=your_google_gemini_key

npm run dev

2. Frontend Setup

bash cd frontend npm install

Create a .env file in the frontend directory:

VITE_API_URL=http://localhost:5000/api

npm run dev

3. Testing the System

  1. Log in as an employee and attempt to change your bank account.
  2. Log in as an admin to view the Live Threat Map, verify **Cryptographic Chains, and simulate an **Attack Surge.

👥 Contributors

  • Hand-crafted with precision for BisonHacks 2026. ## What it does

How we built it

Challenges we ran into

Accomplishments that we're proud of

What we learned

What's next for Payroll Guard

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