Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:
A 403 Forbidden error indicates that the request was understood by the server but is refusing to fulfill it due to insufficient authorization. The developer is attempting to call a protected API that requires valid credentials such as an access key and signature (often used in HMAC-based APIs), but the values appear as Postman variables (e.g., {{rapyd_access_key}}), which suggests they were not replaced with actual credentials.
This typically means that the request lacks proper authentication or authorization headers, or the keys
/signature are incorrect or missing. The presence of access_key, signature, salt, and timestamp in the request implies the API requires authentication, but the variables were not resolved or valid.
Relevant Extract from CompTIA CloudNetX CNX-001 Study Guide - under "API Security and Authentication":
"A 403 error typically results from failed authentication or lack of proper authorization. Developers must ensure that tokens or signatures are valid, not missing, and properly injected." Other options:
* A. 404 is the code for a missing resource, not 403.
* C. A firewall rule would block the request entirely (e.g., no response or a 0 status), not result in a 403 from the server.
* D. HTTP redirection issues typically result in 3xx codes, not 403.

Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract:
When building infrastructure for business units that process financial transactions (such as in the retail or banking sector), the architect must first understand all relevant compliance and regulatory requirements.
These may include PCI DSS, SOX, or GDPR, depending on the nature of the data and jurisdiction. These regulations influence design decisions regarding encryption, segmentation, data retention, and logging.
Relevant Extract from CompTIA CloudNetX CNX-001 Study Guide - under "Compliance and Regulatory Considerations":
"Regulatory requirements such as PCI DSS, HIPAA, and others dictate the security controls, logging, data protection, and architectural design of infrastructure handling sensitive or financial data." Other options:
* B. Statement of Work defines project scope, but doesn't include legal/compliance mandates.
* C. Business case studies illustrate value or ROI, not security or compliance needs.
* D. Internal reference architectures may help with standards but are based on already defined requirements.

Adding a concurrent-user count gives you the key context you're missing: it ties spikes in CPU, memory, disk I/O, and network traffic directly to how many people are actively hitting the site. You can then see whether performance issues align with increases in user load, enabling more targeted capacity planning and troubleshooting.

Single sign-on: Provides users with one set of credentials for authentication across all applications, simplifying access and reducing password fatigue.
Conditional access policy: Enforces location-based restrictions for external users, configurable session timeouts, and dynamic network access controls that can be updated as requirements evolve.

Since only the remote sales team is affected and the infrastructure and network settings are correct, it's most likely that your geolocation or geo-restriction policies are blockingtraffic from the regions where those users are located. Correcting those rules to allow their locations should restore access without impacting other users.