The Florida Master Site File (FMSF) is the State of Florida's official inventory of historical, cultural resources. FMSF data are used as the framework to view site information and add Scout Reports in the Database. The Database is only a snapshot of FMSF data and cannot change or update data held by the FMSF. Visit the FMSF website for more information.

The Database is powered by Arches™, an open-source data management platform, which is an integrated system that stores and manages data but also allows for data visualization, discovery, and advanced searching. Arches™ was created by the Getty Conservation Institute and World Monuments Fund. This website and Arches instance are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Arches Project or the J. Paul Getty Trust. For more information about Arches, see archesproject.org. For more about Arches and security, see archesproject.org/cybersecurity.

The HMS Database is an instance of Arches with unique and specific features customized to work for the HMS Florida Program's needs. The HMS Florida Monitoring Database is a secure and multi-level password protected database with specific access and permissions settings that allows users with permission to easily view cultural sites with map-based visualization and submit monitoring data and photos to the Database, while maintaining the legally required protections provided to sites in Florida.

Cloud Hosting Provider

• Virtual servers hosted on Akamai/Linode, an enterprise=level global cloud hosting company
• Trusted by the World Health Organization, Best Buy, Wayfair, and many more

Data Access Protection

• Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encrypts requests and responses between browser and server
• Built-in firewalls restrict server access to a whitelist of IP addresses
• Custom-built Arches search filters provide granular control over Archaeological Site access, based on user profile attributes

Database Maintenance and Backups

• Security updates are applied to all servers monthly
• Full database backups are made daily and retained for ten days, after which bi-monthly backups are retained

Image and Backup Storage

• All uploaded photographs and database backups are stored in Amazon Web Services (AWS) S3 buckets