Security resources overview

This section provides security-focused support documentation for web infrastructure, operations, and content protection. Materials cover practical implementation of security measures, configuration guidance, and incident response procedures.

Documentation scope

Technical security: Server hardening, access controls, encryption configuration, and protective headers implementation

Application security: Input validation, authentication mechanisms, session management, and secure coding practices

Operational security: Monitoring strategies, incident detection, backup procedures, and recovery planning

Content protection: Archive integrity, download verification, copyright enforcement, and content delivery security

Core security topics

Infrastructure protection

Server hardening: Operating system configuration, service minimization, patch management, and access restriction practices for reducing attack surface

Network security: Firewall rules, port restrictions, DDoS mitigation strategies, and network segmentation approaches

Access control: Authentication mechanisms, authorization policies, privilege separation, and secure credential management

Encryption: TLS/SSL configuration, certificate management, cipher suite selection, and encrypted storage implementation

Application security measures

Input validation: Sanitization techniques, allowlist filtering, type checking, and injection attack prevention

Session management: Token generation, session expiration, secure cookie configuration, and cross-site request forgery protection

Authentication: Password policies, multi-factor authentication, account lockout mechanisms, and credential storage security

Authorization: Role-based access control, permission inheritance, privilege escalation prevention, and resource-level restrictions

Monitoring and detection

Log analysis: Security event monitoring, anomaly detection, pattern recognition, and automated alerting configuration

Intrusion detection: Signature-based and behavioral monitoring approaches for identifying unauthorized access attempts

Performance monitoring: Resource usage tracking to detect denial-of-service attacks and resource exhaustion scenarios

Integrity verification: File integrity monitoring, checksum validation, and unauthorized modification detection

Security headers implementation

Protective headers

HTTP security headers provide browser-enforced protections against common attack vectors:

Content-Security-Policy: Restricts resource loading sources, preventing cross-site scripting and data injection attacks

X-Frame-Options: Prevents clickjacking by controlling iframe embedding permissions

X-Content-Type-Options: Blocks MIME type sniffing, ensuring browsers honor declared content types

Strict-Transport-Security: Enforces HTTPS connections, preventing protocol downgrade attacks

Referrer-Policy: Controls information leakage through HTTP referrer headers

Configuration approaches

Gradual deployment: Implement headers incrementally, starting with report-only modes to identify compatibility issues

Browser compatibility: Consider support levels across target browser versions and graceful degradation for older clients

Policy refinement: Monitor violations and adjust policies based on legitimate application requirements and security needs

Testing procedures: Validate header effectiveness using browser developer tools and security scanning services

Access control strategies

Authentication mechanisms

Password requirements: Length minimums, complexity rules, breach detection, and secure storage using bcrypt or Argon2

Multi-factor authentication: Time-based one-time passwords, hardware tokens, biometric verification, and backup codes

Session tokens: Random generation, secure transmission, expiration policies, and revocation capabilities

Single sign-on: Centralized authentication with SAML or OAuth protocols, reducing credential proliferation

Authorization models

Role-based access: Define user roles with associated permissions, simplifying management and ensuring consistency

Attribute-based access: Evaluate contextual factors (time, location, device) when making authorization decisions

Least privilege: Grant minimum necessary permissions, reducing damage potential from compromised accounts

Segregation of duties: Separate critical functions across multiple roles to prevent unauthorized actions

Encryption and data protection

Transport layer security

TLS configuration: Use TLS 1.2+ with strong cipher suites, disabling vulnerable protocols and algorithms

Certificate management: Obtain certificates from trusted authorities, implement renewal procedures, monitor expiration

HSTS implementation: Enforce HTTPS through Strict-Transport-Security headers with appropriate max-age values

Certificate pinning: Pin public keys or certificates for critical services to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks

Data at rest

Encryption methods: AES-256 for file encryption, full-disk encryption for servers, database column encryption for sensitive fields

Key management: Secure key generation, storage in hardware security modules or key management services, rotation procedures

Backup encryption: Protect backup data with encryption, store keys separately from encrypted data

Secure deletion: Overwrite sensitive data before disposal, use secure erase utilities for storage media

Incident response procedures

Detection and analysis

Security events: Monitor logs for failed authentication attempts, privilege escalations, unauthorized access patterns

Anomaly identification: Establish baselines for normal behavior, investigate deviations from expected patterns

Impact assessment: Determine scope of incidents, affected systems, data exposure, and potential damage

Evidence preservation: Capture forensic evidence without contaminating investigation, maintain chain of custody

Containment and recovery

Immediate actions: Isolate affected systems, disable compromised accounts, block attack sources

System restoration: Rebuild from known-good backups, apply security patches, verify integrity before returning to service

Root cause analysis: Identify vulnerability exploited, determine attack vector, assess security control failures

Preventive measures: Implement fixes for identified vulnerabilities, improve detection capabilities, update response procedures

Security documentation resources

Main security section

Comprehensive security documentation available at wplus.net/security/ covers:

  • HTTP security headers configuration and testing
  • Redirect vulnerability prevention and mitigation
  • Download archive protection and verification
  • TLS configuration and certificate management
  • Content Security Policy implementation

Related operations guides

Operational security procedures documented at wplus.net/operations/:

  • System monitoring and alerting
  • Error code interpretation
  • Performance analysis and optimization
  • Troubleshooting methodologies

Infrastructure security

Server hardening and infrastructure security covered at wplus.net/infrastructure/:

  • Hosting security configurations
  • CDN setup and DDoS protection
  • DNS security and DNSSEC
  • Backup and disaster recovery

Security scanning and testing

Vulnerability assessment

Automated scanning: Use tools like Nmap, OpenVAS, or commercial scanners to identify known vulnerabilities

Manual testing: Supplement automated scans with manual code review and penetration testing for complex vulnerabilities

Dependency checking: Monitor third-party libraries and frameworks for disclosed vulnerabilities, implement patching procedures

Configuration review: Audit server configurations, application settings, and access controls against security baselines

Penetration testing

Testing scope: Define boundaries for penetration tests, obtain necessary authorizations, establish rules of engagement

Common scenarios: Test for SQL injection, cross-site scripting, authentication bypasses, authorization flaws, and configuration issues

Reporting procedures: Document findings with severity ratings, reproduction steps, and remediation recommendations

Remediation verification: Retest after fixes implemented to confirm vulnerabilities resolved effectively

Secure development practices

Code security

Input validation: Validate all user input, use parameterized queries, sanitize output, implement type checking

Error handling: Avoid exposing sensitive information in error messages, log errors securely, implement graceful failure modes

Authentication integration: Use established authentication libraries, avoid custom cryptography, implement secure session management

Code review: Review security-critical code with multiple developers, use static analysis tools, follow secure coding guidelines

Deployment security

Environment separation: Maintain distinct development, staging, and production environments with appropriate security controls

Configuration management: Store configurations securely, avoid hardcoded credentials, use environment variables or secret management services

Update procedures: Implement structured deployment processes, verify integrity of deployed code, rollback capabilities for problematic updates

Monitoring integration: Ensure security monitoring active in production environments, log security-relevant events

Third-party integrations

Service evaluation

Security assessment: Review third-party service security posture, compliance certifications, incident history

Data handling: Understand what data services access, how processed and stored, retention policies, deletion procedures

Access restrictions: Grant minimum necessary permissions to external services, implement regular access reviews

Service monitoring: Monitor third-party service availability, performance, and security incident notifications

API security

Authentication: Use API keys or OAuth tokens, rotate credentials regularly, monitor for unauthorized usage

Rate limiting: Implement request throttling to prevent abuse, establish usage quotas appropriate for legitimate use

Input validation: Sanitize all API inputs, enforce data type and format requirements, implement size restrictions

Error responses: Avoid leaking sensitive information through API error messages, log errors for investigation

Compliance considerations

Data protection

Privacy regulations: Understand requirements of GDPR, CCPA, and other applicable data protection laws

Data minimization: Collect only necessary data, implement retention policies, provide deletion mechanisms

User rights: Enable data access requests, correction procedures, and consent management

Breach notification: Establish procedures for detecting, documenting, and reporting data breaches as required

Security standards

Framework alignment: Consider alignment with ISO 27001, NIST Cybersecurity Framework, or industry-specific standards

Documentation requirements: Maintain security policies, procedures, and evidence of control implementation

Audit preparation: Document security controls, maintain evidence of effectiveness, establish audit response procedures

For additional security guidance and detailed implementation instructions, consult the main security documentation or contact via support channels.