diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index b145bc50cd..a194b08a4d 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -135,3 +135,6 @@ storybook-static/
 
 # ignore local ssl certs
 certs/
+
+# ignore db backups
+backups/
diff --git a/Dockerfile b/Dockerfile
index 85076f0560..8e0ac5aa7a 100644
--- a/Dockerfile
+++ b/Dockerfile
@@ -18,6 +18,10 @@ RUN mkdir /src
 RUN adduser --disabled-password --gecos "" mitodl
 RUN mkdir /var/media && chown -R mitodl:mitodl /var/media
 
+# copy in trusted certs
+COPY --chmod=644 certs/*.crt /usr/local/share/ca-certificates/
+RUN update-ca-certificates
+
 ## Set some poetry config
 ENV  \
   POETRY_VERSION=1.7.1 \
diff --git a/backups/.keep b/backups/.keep
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e69de29bb2
diff --git a/certs/.keep b/certs/.keep
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e69de29bb2
diff --git a/docker-compose.services.yml b/docker-compose.services.yml
index 83b1c9c658..57d355265b 100644
--- a/docker-compose.services.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.services.yml
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ services:
       - POSTGRES_PASSWORD=postgres
     volumes:
       - pgdata:/var/lib/postgresql
+      - ./backups:/mnt/backups
 
   redis:
     profiles:
diff --git a/main/settings.py b/main/settings.py
index d798222c54..23ec9c24ef 100644
--- a/main/settings.py
+++ b/main/settings.py
@@ -107,6 +107,7 @@
     "drf_spectacular",
     # Put our apps after this point
     "main",
+    "users",
     "authentication",
     "channels",
     "profiles",
diff --git a/users/__init__.py b/users/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e69de29bb2
diff --git a/users/apps.py b/users/apps.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..88f7b1798e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/users/apps.py
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+from django.apps import AppConfig
+
+
+class UsersConfig(AppConfig):
+    default_auto_field = "django.db.models.BigAutoField"
+    name = "users"
diff --git a/users/migrations/0001_initial.py b/users/migrations/0001_initial.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b90bc3412a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/users/migrations/0001_initial.py
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+# Generated by Django 4.2.18 on 2025-02-05 19:41
+
+from django.db import migrations
+
+
+class Migration(migrations.Migration):
+    dependencies = []
+
+    operations = []
diff --git a/users/migrations/__init__.py b/users/migrations/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e69de29bb2