Security Checklist Before Launching Your Site

Introduction

Launching a website is an exciting milestone, but a poorly secured site can quickly become a liability. This extensive checklist covers every facet of security—from infrastructure and application hardening to data protection, monitoring, compliance, and recovery. Follow each step carefully to minimize risks, protect your users, and safeguard your reputation.

1. Infrastructure Security

1.1 Server Configuration

• OS Updates: Ensure the operating system is up-to-date with the latest security patches.
• Minimal Installation: Install only required packages and services to reduce the attack surface.
• Secure SSH:
  • Use SSH keys instead of passwords.
  • Change default port (e.g., to 2202).
  • Disable root login: in /etc/ssh/sshd_config, set PermitRootLogin no.
• Firewall Rules: Configure a host-based firewall (e.g., ufw or iptables) to allow only required ports (80/443).
• Intrusion Prevention: Deploy Fail2Ban or similar to block suspicious login attempts.

1.2 Network Security

• Dedicated VLAN: Isolate production servers from public networks.
• VPN Access: Require VPN for administrative access.
• Web Application Firewall (WAF): Implement a WAF (e.g., ModSecurity) to block common web exploits.
• SSL/TLS:
  • Obtain certificates from Let’s Encrypt or a commercial CA.
  • Disable TLS 1.0/1.1 enable TLS 1.2 .
  • Use strong cipher suites (e.g., ECDHE with AES-GCM).

2. Application Security

2.1 Secure Coding Practices

• Follow the OWASP Top 10 guidelines for common vulnerabilities (XSS, SQLi, etc.).
• Use prepared statements or ORM for database queries to prevent injection attacks.
• Validate and sanitize all user inputs on both client and server sides.
• Implement proper error handling avoid verbose error messages leaking internal details.

2.2 Authentication Authorization

• Password Policy: Enforce strong password requirements (length, complexity, expiration).
• Multi-Factor Authentication: Offer MFA for user and admin logins.
• Session Management:
  • Use secure, httpOnly cookies with SameSite=Strict.
  • Regenerate session IDs after login and logout.
• Role-Based Access Control: Implement least-privilege access for all user roles.

2.3 Content Security Policy

• Define a Content-Security-Policy header to restrict resource loading sources.
• Start with a strict policy and relax only as needed:

Content-Security-Policy: default-src self script-src self style-src self img-src self data:

3. Data Security

3.1 Encryption at Rest

• Enable full-disk encryption (LUKS or cloud provider equivalent).
• Encrypt sensitive files and database backups.

3.2 Encryption in Transit

• Enforce HTTPS site-wide with HSTS header:

Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=63072000 includeSubDomains preload

3.3 Data Handling Privacy

• Minimize stored personal data follow data retention policies.
• Use tokenization or hashing for sensitive identifiers.
• Display a clear privacy policy compliant with GDPR, CCPA, or relevant regulations.

4. Testing Monitoring

4.1 Vulnerability Scanning

• Run automated scans with tools like Nessus or OpenVAS.
• Scan for outdated components (Snyk or Dependency-Check).

4.2 Penetration Testing

• Engage professional pentesters to simulate real-world attacks.
• Remediate findings promptly and verify fixes.

4.3 Continuous Monitoring

• Implement centralized logging (ELK Stack, Splunk) for security events.
• Set up real-time alerts for anomalies (failed logins, unusual traffic spikes).
• Monitor application performance and error rates for signs of compromise.

5. Backup Recovery

• Backup Frequency: Daily full backups hourly incremental as needed.
• Offsite Storage: Store backups in a separate region or service (AWS S3, Azure Blob).
• Disaster Recovery Plan: Document RTO/RPO objectives and recovery procedures.
• Regular Restore Tests: Validate backup integrity by performing periodic restores.

6. Compliance Documentation

• Security Policies: Document acceptable use, incident response, access control.
• Change Management: Maintain version control and change logs (Git, SVN).
• Privacy Regulations: Ensure GDPR, HIPAA, PCI-DSS compliance where applicable.
• Contact Information: Provide clear channels for security researchers to report issues (e.g., CERT coordination).

7. Final Review: Summary Checklist

Category	Item	Status
Infrastructure	OS software patches applied	[ ]
Network	SSL/TLS configured with HSTS	[ ]
Application	OWASP Top 10 mitigations	[ ]
Data	Encrypted at rest in transit	[ ]
Monitoring	SIEM alerting in place	[ ]
Backup	Restore tested	[ ]
Compliance	Policies documentation	[ ]

Completing this checklist will significantly reduce your exposure to threats and help ensure a secure, reliable launch. Regularly revisit each item to stay ahead of emerging vulnerabilities and maintain security hygiene.