Security & Compliance

Overview

Security isn’t a feature — it’s a foundation. Every application JAIK Solutions builds follows security-first principles, from architecture design through deployment and ongoing maintenance. This guide covers the core practices we follow and recommend to every client.

OWASP Top 10

The OWASP Top 10 is the industry-standard list of the most critical web application security risks. Here’s how we address each one:

A01 — Broken Access Control

Enforce authorization checks on every request, not just at the UI level. Use role-based access control (RBAC) and verify permissions server-side. Deny by default — users should only access resources they explicitly own or are granted.

A02 — Cryptographic Failures

Encrypt sensitive data at rest (AES-256) and in transit (TLS 1.2+). Never store passwords in plain text — use bcrypt or Argon2 with per-user salts. Avoid rolling your own cryptography.

A03 — Injection

Use parameterized queries (prepared statements) for all database access. Validate and sanitize all user input. Use an ORM where practical, but still validate at the application boundary.

A07 — Identification & Authentication Failures

Enforce strong password policies, support multi-factor authentication (MFA), and implement account lockout after repeated failures. Use secure, HttpOnly, SameSite cookies for session management.

SSL/TLS Configuration

Every public-facing endpoint must use HTTPS. Our standard TLS configuration:

• Minimum TLS 1.2 (disable TLS 1.0, 1.1, and all SSL versions).
• Prefer TLS 1.3 where supported — it’s faster (1-RTT handshake) and removes weak cipher suites.
• Use certificates from a trusted CA (Let’s Encrypt for cost-free automation, or commercial CAs for EV certificates).
• Enable HSTS (HTTP Strict Transport Security) with a minimum max-age of one year.
• Automate certificate renewal — expired certificates cause outages and erode user trust.
• Test your configuration with SSL Labs (aim for an A+ rating).

Data Protection

Data Classification

Not all data requires the same level of protection. Classify data into tiers:

• Public — Marketing content, published blog posts.
• Internal — Employee directories, internal documentation.
• Confidential — Customer PII, financial records, API keys.
• Restricted — Health records (HIPAA), payment data (PCI DSS), credentials.

Apply encryption, access controls, and audit logging proportional to the data tier.

Compliance Frameworks

• GDPR — If you process EU resident data: implement data subject rights (access, deletion, portability), maintain a processing register, and appoint a DPO if required.
• SOC 2 — Demonstrate controls over security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy through an independent audit.
• HIPAA — For health data: encrypt PHI at rest and in transit, implement access logging, sign BAAs with all processors.
• PCI DSS — For payment processing: never store full card numbers, use tokenization, and segment your cardholder data environment.

Application Security Practices

• Run SAST (static analysis) on every pull request — tools like Semgrep or SonarQube catch vulnerabilities before code merges.
• Run DAST (dynamic analysis) against staging environments weekly.
• Maintain a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) and monitor dependencies for known CVEs (Dependabot, Snyk).
• Implement Content Security Policy (CSP) headers to mitigate XSS attacks.
• Log security-relevant events (login attempts, permission changes, data exports) to a centralized, tamper-evident store.

Incident Response

Have a plan before you need one:

• Define severity levels (P1–P4) with clear escalation paths.
• Maintain a runbook for common scenarios (compromised credentials, data breach, DDoS).
• Conduct tabletop exercises quarterly.
• After every incident, publish an internal post-mortem with a timeline, root cause, and corrective actions.

Need Help?

JAIK Solutions builds security into every layer of the stack. If you need a security audit, compliance guidance, or help hardening your application, let’s talk.