security.md•26.6 kB
# Security Guide
This guide covers security best practices for Context-Pods, generated MCP servers, and deployment environments. Follow these guidelines to ensure secure operation of your MCP infrastructure.
## Table of Contents
- [Security Overview](#security-overview)
- [Template Security](#template-security)
- [Generated Server Security](#generated-server-security)
- [Meta-MCP Server Security](#meta-mcp-server-security)
- [Environment Security](#environment-security)
- [Network Security](#network-security)
- [Data Protection](#data-protection)
- [Authentication & Authorization](#authentication--authorization)
- [Monitoring & Incident Response](#monitoring--incident-response)
- [Security Checklist](#security-checklist)
## Security Overview
Context-Pods follows defense-in-depth security principles:
1. **Template Validation**: Prevent malicious code injection during generation
2. **Input Sanitization**: Validate all inputs and parameters
3. **Secure Defaults**: Generated servers use secure configurations by default
4. **Environment Isolation**: Separate development, staging, and production environments
5. **Monitoring**: Comprehensive logging and security monitoring
6. **Regular Updates**: Keep dependencies and runtime environments updated
## Template Security
### Template Validation
Context-Pods validates templates before processing to prevent security vulnerabilities:
```typescript
// Template validation in core package
import { validateTemplate } from '@context-pods/core';
const validation = await validateTemplate('./my-template', {
checkFiles: true, // Validate file paths and permissions
checkVariables: true, // Validate variable definitions
checkDependencies: true, // Check for known vulnerable dependencies
preventCodeInjection: true, // Scan for potential code injection
allowedFileTypes: ['.ts', '.js', '.json', '.md'], // Restrict file types
});
if (!validation.isValid) {
throw new Error(`Template validation failed: ${validation.errors.join(', ')}`);
}
```
### Variable Sanitization
Template variables are sanitized to prevent injection attacks:
```typescript
// Secure variable processing
export function sanitizeVariable(value: string, type: 'string' | 'path' | 'identifier'): string {
switch (type) {
case 'path':
// Prevent directory traversal
return path.normalize(value).replace(/\.\./g, '');
case 'identifier':
// Allow only safe identifier characters
return value.replace(/[^a-zA-Z0-9_-]/g, '');
case 'string':
// Escape special characters for templates
return value.replace(/[<>&"']/g, (match) => escapeMap[match]);
default:
return value;
}
}
```
### Safe Template Patterns
Use these patterns in your custom templates:
```handlebars
{{! Safe: Variable with proper escaping }}
<description>{{escapeHtml description}}</description>
{{! Safe: Path validation }}
{{#if (isValidPath outputPath)}}
<path>{{normalizePath outputPath}}</path>
{{/if}}
{{! Unsafe: Raw variable insertion }}
{{!-- DO NOT USE: {{{rawVariable}}} --}}
{{! Safe: Conditional rendering }}
{{#if authorEmail}}
<author>{{escapeHtml authorName}} <{{escapeHtml authorEmail}}></author>
{{/if}}
```
## Generated Server Security
### Input Validation
All generated servers include comprehensive input validation:
```typescript
// Generated tool with validation
import { z } from 'zod';
const ToolInputSchema = z.object({
query: z
.string()
.min(1)
.max(1000)
.regex(/^[a-zA-Z0-9\s.,!?-]+$/),
limit: z.number().int().min(1).max(100).optional().default(10),
apiKey: z.string().min(1).max(255).optional(),
});
export async function handleTool(args: unknown) {
try {
// Validate input
const validatedArgs = ToolInputSchema.parse(args);
// Process with validated data
return await processQuery(validatedArgs);
} catch (error) {
if (error instanceof z.ZodError) {
return {
content: [
{
type: 'text',
text: `Invalid input: ${error.errors.map((e) => e.message).join(', ')}`,
},
],
isError: true,
};
}
throw error;
}
}
```
### Error Handling
Secure error handling prevents information leakage:
```typescript
// Secure error handling
export class SecureError extends Error {
constructor(
message: string,
public userMessage: string,
public statusCode: number = 500,
) {
super(message);
this.name = 'SecureError';
}
}
export function handleError(error: unknown): MCPResponse {
if (error instanceof SecureError) {
// Log full error internally
logger.error('Tool error', { error: error.message, stack: error.stack });
// Return safe message to user
return {
content: [
{
type: 'text',
text: error.userMessage,
},
],
isError: true,
};
}
// Log and return generic error for unknown errors
logger.error('Unexpected error', { error });
return {
content: [
{
type: 'text',
text: 'An internal error occurred. Please try again later.',
},
],
isError: true,
};
}
```
### Environment Variables
Secure environment variable handling:
```typescript
// config/security.ts
import { z } from 'zod';
const EnvironmentSchema = z.object({
// Required secure values
API_KEY: z.string().min(32, 'API key must be at least 32 characters'),
JWT_SECRET: z.string().min(64, 'JWT secret must be at least 64 characters'),
// Optional with secure defaults
SESSION_TIMEOUT: z.number().int().min(300).max(86400).default(3600), // 5min to 24h
RATE_LIMIT_MAX: z.number().int().min(10).max(1000).default(100),
// Database
DATABASE_URL: z
.string()
.url()
.refine(
(url) => !url.includes('password') || url.startsWith('postgresql://'),
'Database URL must use secure connection',
),
// Security flags
NODE_ENV: z.enum(['development', 'test', 'production']).default('development'),
ENABLE_CORS: z.boolean().default(false),
CORS_ORIGINS: z.string().optional(),
});
export const config = EnvironmentSchema.parse(process.env);
// Redact sensitive values from logs
export function redactConfig(config: any) {
const redacted = { ...config };
const sensitiveKeys = ['API_KEY', 'JWT_SECRET', 'DATABASE_URL'];
sensitiveKeys.forEach((key) => {
if (redacted[key]) {
redacted[key] = '[REDACTED]';
}
});
return redacted;
}
```
### Rate Limiting
Implement rate limiting to prevent abuse:
```typescript
// middleware/rate-limit.ts
import { RateLimiterMemory } from 'rate-limiter-flexible';
const rateLimiter = new RateLimiterMemory({
keyGen: (req) => req.ip || 'unknown',
points: parseInt(process.env.RATE_LIMIT_MAX || '100'),
duration: parseInt(process.env.RATE_LIMIT_WINDOW || '60'),
blockDuration: parseInt(process.env.RATE_LIMIT_BLOCK || '300'),
});
export async function rateLimitMiddleware(req: any, res: any, next: any) {
try {
await rateLimiter.consume(req.ip || 'unknown');
next();
} catch (rejRes) {
const remainingSeconds = Math.round(rejRes.msBeforeNext / 1000) || 1;
res.status(429).json({
error: 'Rate limit exceeded',
retryAfter: remainingSeconds,
});
}
}
```
## Meta-MCP Server Security
### Server Registry Security
Secure the server registry database:
```typescript
// registry/secure-database.ts
import Database from 'better-sqlite3';
import { createHash } from 'crypto';
export class SecureRegistry {
private db: Database.Database;
constructor(dbPath: string) {
this.db = new Database(dbPath);
this.setupSecurity();
}
private setupSecurity() {
// Enable WAL mode for better concurrent access
this.db.pragma('journal_mode = WAL');
// Enable foreign key constraints
this.db.pragma('foreign_keys = ON');
// Set secure file permissions
this.db.pragma('secure_delete = ON');
// Initialize tables with security constraints
this.initializeTables();
}
private initializeTables() {
this.db.exec(`
CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS servers (
id TEXT PRIMARY KEY,
name TEXT NOT NULL CHECK(length(name) <= 255),
path TEXT NOT NULL CHECK(path NOT LIKE '%..%'),
template TEXT NOT NULL,
status TEXT NOT NULL CHECK(status IN ('active', 'inactive', 'error')),
created_at INTEGER NOT NULL,
updated_at INTEGER NOT NULL,
checksum TEXT NOT NULL
);
CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_servers_status ON servers(status);
CREATE INDEX IF NOT EXISTS idx_servers_created ON servers(created_at);
`);
}
// Validate and sanitize server data
public addServer(serverData: any): string {
const validated = this.validateServerData(serverData);
const checksum = this.calculateChecksum(validated);
const stmt = this.db.prepare(`
INSERT INTO servers (id, name, path, template, status, created_at, updated_at, checksum)
VALUES (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)
`);
const id = this.generateSecureId();
stmt.run(
id,
validated.name,
validated.path,
validated.template,
'active',
Date.now(),
Date.now(),
checksum,
);
return id;
}
private validateServerData(data: any) {
// Validate server name
if (!data.name || typeof data.name !== 'string' || data.name.length > 255) {
throw new Error('Invalid server name');
}
// Validate path (prevent directory traversal)
if (!data.path || data.path.includes('..') || data.path.includes('~')) {
throw new Error('Invalid server path');
}
return {
name: data.name.trim(),
path: path.resolve(data.path),
template: data.template || 'basic',
};
}
private calculateChecksum(data: any): string {
return createHash('sha256').update(JSON.stringify(data)).digest('hex');
}
private generateSecureId(): string {
return createHash('sha256')
.update(`${Date.now()}-${Math.random()}`)
.digest('hex')
.substring(0, 16);
}
}
```
### Tool Security
Secure MCP tool implementations:
```typescript
// tools/secure-create-mcp.ts
import { CreateMCPTool } from './base-tool.js';
import { z } from 'zod';
import path from 'path';
const CreateMCPSchema = z.object({
name: z
.string()
.min(1, 'Name is required')
.max(100, 'Name too long')
.regex(/^[a-zA-Z][a-zA-Z0-9_-]*$/, 'Invalid name format'),
template: z
.string()
.optional()
.refine((name) => !name || this.isValidTemplate(name), 'Invalid template'),
outputPath: z
.string()
.optional()
.refine((p) => !p || this.isValidOutputPath(p), 'Invalid output path'),
variables: z.record(z.any()).optional(),
});
export class SecureCreateMCPTool extends CreateMCPTool {
async execute(args: unknown) {
try {
// Validate input
const validatedArgs = CreateMCPSchema.parse(args);
// Additional security checks
await this.performSecurityChecks(validatedArgs);
// Execute with validated data
return await super.execute(validatedArgs);
} catch (error) {
return this.handleSecureError(error);
}
}
private async performSecurityChecks(args: any) {
// Check if output path is within allowed directories
if (args.outputPath) {
const resolved = path.resolve(args.outputPath);
const allowed = path.resolve(process.env.ALLOWED_OUTPUT_DIR || './output');
if (!resolved.startsWith(allowed)) {
throw new Error('Output path not allowed');
}
}
// Check template whitelist
if (args.template && !this.isTemplateWhitelisted(args.template)) {
throw new Error('Template not allowed');
}
// Validate variables for potential injection
if (args.variables) {
this.validateVariables(args.variables);
}
}
private isValidTemplate(name: string): boolean {
const allowedTemplates = ['basic', 'typescript-advanced', 'python-basic', 'rust-basic'];
return allowedTemplates.includes(name);
}
private isValidOutputPath(path: string): boolean {
// Prevent directory traversal
const normalized = path.normalize(path);
return !normalized.includes('..') && !normalized.startsWith('/');
}
private validateVariables(variables: Record<string, any>) {
Object.entries(variables).forEach(([key, value]) => {
// Validate key
if (!/^[a-zA-Z_][a-zA-Z0-9_]*$/.test(key)) {
throw new Error(`Invalid variable name: ${key}`);
}
// Validate value based on type
if (typeof value === 'string') {
// Check for potential script tags or other dangerous content
if (/<script|javascript:|data:/i.test(value)) {
throw new Error(`Potentially dangerous variable value: ${key}`);
}
}
});
}
}
```
## Environment Security
### Development Environment
```bash
# .env.development
NODE_ENV=development
LOG_LEVEL=debug
# Use test/mock credentials in development
API_KEY=dev-test-key-not-for-production
DATABASE_URL=sqlite:./dev.db
# Enable additional debug features
DEBUG_MODE=true
ALLOW_UNSAFE_OPERATIONS=true
```
### Production Environment
```bash
# .env.production
NODE_ENV=production
LOG_LEVEL=info
# Use secrets management system
API_KEY=${SECRET_API_KEY}
DATABASE_URL=${SECRET_DATABASE_URL}
JWT_SECRET=${SECRET_JWT_SECRET}
# Security settings
DISABLE_DEBUG_ROUTES=true
ENABLE_RATE_LIMITING=true
SECURE_HEADERS=true
HTTPS_ONLY=true
# Monitoring
SENTRY_DSN=${SECRET_SENTRY_DSN}
```
### Secrets Management
#### Using AWS Secrets Manager
```typescript
// config/secrets.ts
import { SecretsManagerClient, GetSecretValueCommand } from '@aws-sdk/client-secrets-manager';
const client = new SecretsManagerClient({ region: 'us-east-1' });
export async function getSecret(secretName: string): Promise<string> {
try {
const command = new GetSecretValueCommand({ SecretId: secretName });
const response = await client.send(command);
if (response.SecretString) {
return response.SecretString;
}
throw new Error('Secret not found');
} catch (error) {
logger.error('Failed to retrieve secret', { secretName, error });
throw error;
}
}
// Load secrets at startup
export async function loadSecrets() {
if (process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production') {
process.env.API_KEY = await getSecret('mcp-server/api-key');
process.env.DATABASE_URL = await getSecret('mcp-server/database-url');
process.env.JWT_SECRET = await getSecret('mcp-server/jwt-secret');
}
}
```
#### Using Azure Key Vault
```typescript
// config/azure-secrets.ts
import { SecretClient } from '@azure/keyvault-secrets';
import { DefaultAzureCredential } from '@azure/identity';
const credential = new DefaultAzureCredential();
const client = new SecretClient(process.env.AZURE_KEY_VAULT_URL!, credential);
export async function getAzureSecret(secretName: string): Promise<string> {
try {
const secret = await client.getSecret(secretName);
return secret.value!;
} catch (error) {
logger.error('Failed to retrieve Azure secret', { secretName, error });
throw error;
}
}
```
## Network Security
### HTTPS Configuration
```typescript
// server/https-server.ts
import https from 'https';
import fs from 'fs';
const httpsOptions = {
key: fs.readFileSync(process.env.SSL_KEY_PATH!),
cert: fs.readFileSync(process.env.SSL_CERT_PATH!),
// Use strong ciphers
ciphers: [
'ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA512',
'DHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA512',
'ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384',
'DHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384',
].join(':'),
honorCipherOrder: true,
secureProtocol: 'TLSv1_2_method',
};
export function createSecureServer(app: any) {
return https.createServer(httpsOptions, app);
}
```
### CORS Configuration
```typescript
// middleware/cors.ts
import cors from 'cors';
const corsOptions = {
origin: (origin: string | undefined, callback: Function) => {
const allowedOrigins = process.env.CORS_ORIGINS?.split(',') || [];
// Allow requests with no origin (mobile apps, etc.)
if (!origin) return callback(null, true);
if (allowedOrigins.includes(origin)) {
callback(null, true);
} else {
callback(new Error('Not allowed by CORS'));
}
},
credentials: true,
methods: ['GET', 'POST', 'PUT', 'DELETE'],
allowedHeaders: ['Content-Type', 'Authorization'],
maxAge: 86400, // 24 hours
};
export const corsMiddleware = cors(corsOptions);
```
### Security Headers
```typescript
// middleware/security-headers.ts
import helmet from 'helmet';
export const securityHeaders = helmet({
contentSecurityPolicy: {
directives: {
defaultSrc: ["'self'"],
styleSrc: ["'self'", "'unsafe-inline'"],
scriptSrc: ["'self'"],
imgSrc: ["'self'", 'data:', 'https:'],
connectSrc: ["'self'"],
fontSrc: ["'self'"],
objectSrc: ["'none'"],
mediaSrc: ["'self'"],
frameSrc: ["'none'"],
},
},
hsts: {
maxAge: 31536000,
includeSubDomains: true,
preload: true,
},
noSniff: true,
xssFilter: true,
referrerPolicy: { policy: 'strict-origin-when-cross-origin' },
});
```
## Data Protection
### Data Encryption
```typescript
// utils/encryption.ts
import crypto from 'crypto';
const algorithm = 'aes-256-gcm';
export class DataEncryption {
private key: Buffer;
constructor(secretKey: string) {
this.key = crypto.scryptSync(secretKey, 'salt', 32);
}
encrypt(text: string): { encrypted: string; iv: string; authTag: string } {
const iv = crypto.randomBytes(16);
const cipher = crypto.createCipher(algorithm, this.key);
let encrypted = cipher.update(text, 'utf8', 'hex');
encrypted += cipher.final('hex');
const authTag = cipher.getAuthTag();
return {
encrypted,
iv: iv.toString('hex'),
authTag: authTag.toString('hex'),
};
}
decrypt(encrypted: string, iv: string, authTag: string): string {
const decipher = crypto.createDecipher(algorithm, this.key);
decipher.setAuthTag(Buffer.from(authTag, 'hex'));
let decrypted = decipher.update(encrypted, 'hex', 'utf8');
decrypted += decipher.final('utf8');
return decrypted;
}
}
```
### Secure Data Storage
```typescript
// models/secure-model.ts
import { DataEncryption } from '../utils/encryption.js';
const encryption = new DataEncryption(process.env.ENCRYPTION_KEY!);
export class SecureServerModel {
static async create(data: any) {
// Encrypt sensitive fields
if (data.apiKey) {
const encrypted = encryption.encrypt(data.apiKey);
data.apiKey = JSON.stringify(encrypted);
}
// Store in database
return await this.database.create(data);
}
static async findById(id: string) {
const record = await this.database.findById(id);
if (record && record.apiKey) {
// Decrypt sensitive fields
const encryptedData = JSON.parse(record.apiKey);
record.apiKey = encryption.decrypt(
encryptedData.encrypted,
encryptedData.iv,
encryptedData.authTag,
);
}
return record;
}
}
```
## Authentication & Authorization
### JWT Implementation
```typescript
// auth/jwt.ts
import jwt from 'jsonwebtoken';
import { z } from 'zod';
const TokenPayloadSchema = z.object({
userId: z.string(),
role: z.enum(['admin', 'user']),
permissions: z.array(z.string()),
exp: z.number(),
iat: z.number(),
});
export class JWTService {
private secret: string;
constructor() {
this.secret = process.env.JWT_SECRET!;
if (this.secret.length < 64) {
throw new Error('JWT secret must be at least 64 characters');
}
}
generateToken(payload: { userId: string; role: string; permissions: string[] }): string {
return jwt.sign(payload, this.secret, {
expiresIn: '1h',
algorithm: 'HS256',
});
}
verifyToken(token: string): any {
try {
const decoded = jwt.verify(token, this.secret, { algorithm: 'HS256' });
return TokenPayloadSchema.parse(decoded);
} catch (error) {
throw new Error('Invalid token');
}
}
}
```
### Role-Based Access Control
```typescript
// middleware/auth.ts
import { JWTService } from '../auth/jwt.js';
const jwtService = new JWTService();
export function requireAuth(requiredPermissions: string[] = []) {
return async (req: any, res: any, next: any) => {
try {
const token = req.headers.authorization?.replace('Bearer ', '');
if (!token) {
return res.status(401).json({ error: 'Authentication required' });
}
const payload = jwtService.verifyToken(token);
// Check permissions
if (requiredPermissions.length > 0) {
const hasPermission = requiredPermissions.every((perm) =>
payload.permissions.includes(perm),
);
if (!hasPermission) {
return res.status(403).json({ error: 'Insufficient permissions' });
}
}
req.user = payload;
next();
} catch (error) {
res.status(401).json({ error: 'Invalid authentication' });
}
};
}
// Usage
app.post('/api/servers', requireAuth(['server:create']), createServer);
app.delete('/api/servers/:id', requireAuth(['server:delete']), deleteServer);
```
## Monitoring & Incident Response
### Security Logging
```typescript
// logging/security-logger.ts
import winston from 'winston';
const securityLogger = winston.createLogger({
level: 'info',
format: winston.format.combine(winston.format.timestamp(), winston.format.json()),
transports: [
new winston.transports.File({ filename: 'logs/security.log' }),
new winston.transports.Console({ level: 'warn' }),
],
});
export function logSecurityEvent(event: {
type: string;
severity: 'low' | 'medium' | 'high' | 'critical';
userId?: string;
ip?: string;
userAgent?: string;
details?: any;
}) {
securityLogger.info('Security Event', {
...event,
timestamp: new Date().toISOString(),
});
// Alert for critical events
if (event.severity === 'critical') {
alertSecurityTeam(event);
}
}
// Usage
logSecurityEvent({
type: 'authentication_failure',
severity: 'medium',
ip: req.ip,
userAgent: req.get('User-Agent'),
details: { attemptedUsername: req.body.username },
});
```
### Intrusion Detection
```typescript
// security/intrusion-detection.ts
import { RateLimiterMemory } from 'rate-limiter-flexible';
const failedAttempts = new RateLimiterMemory({
keyGen: (req) => req.ip,
points: 5, // 5 attempts
duration: 900, // 15 minutes
blockDuration: 1800, // 30 minutes
});
export async function detectSuspiciousActivity(req: any, res: any, next: any) {
try {
// Check for suspicious patterns
const suspiciousPatterns = [
/\.\./, // Directory traversal
/<script/i, // XSS attempts
/union.*select/i, // SQL injection
/javascript:/i, // JavaScript protocol
];
const requestData =
JSON.stringify(req.body || {}) + (req.query ? JSON.stringify(req.query) : '');
for (const pattern of suspiciousPatterns) {
if (pattern.test(requestData)) {
await failedAttempts.consume(req.ip);
logSecurityEvent({
type: 'suspicious_request',
severity: 'high',
ip: req.ip,
userAgent: req.get('User-Agent'),
details: { pattern: pattern.toString(), data: requestData },
});
return res.status(400).json({ error: 'Invalid request' });
}
}
next();
} catch (rejRes) {
// IP is blocked
logSecurityEvent({
type: 'ip_blocked',
severity: 'high',
ip: req.ip,
details: { reason: 'Too many suspicious requests' },
});
res.status(429).json({ error: 'Too many suspicious requests' });
}
}
```
## Security Checklist
### Development Phase
- [ ] All templates validated before use
- [ ] Input validation implemented for all user inputs
- [ ] Error handling prevents information leakage
- [ ] Secure coding practices followed
- [ ] Dependencies regularly updated and scanned
- [ ] Security tests included in test suite
### Pre-Production
- [ ] Security review completed
- [ ] Secrets moved to secure storage
- [ ] HTTPS configured with strong ciphers
- [ ] Security headers implemented
- [ ] Rate limiting configured
- [ ] Logging and monitoring set up
### Production
- [ ] Environment variables secured
- [ ] Database encrypted and backed up
- [ ] Network access restricted
- [ ] Regular security updates scheduled
- [ ] Incident response plan documented
- [ ] Security monitoring active
### Ongoing Maintenance
- [ ] Regular security assessments
- [ ] Dependency vulnerability scanning
- [ ] Log review and analysis
- [ ] Security patches applied promptly
- [ ] Team security training updated
- [ ] Documentation kept current
## Security Contacts
For security issues:
- **Security Email**: security@yourorganization.com
- **Bug Bounty**: Link to bug bounty program if available
- **Incident Response**: 24/7 security hotline
- **GitHub Issues**: For non-sensitive security improvements
## Compliance Considerations
### GDPR Compliance
```typescript
// gdpr/data-handler.ts
export class GDPRCompliantDataHandler {
// Right to be forgotten
async deleteUserData(userId: string) {
await this.anonymizeUserRecords(userId);
await this.deleteUserFiles(userId);
await this.updateDataProcessingLog(userId, 'deleted');
}
// Data portability
async exportUserData(userId: string) {
const userData = await this.collectUserData(userId);
return this.formatForExport(userData);
}
// Consent management
async updateConsent(userId: string, consents: Record<string, boolean>) {
await this.recordConsentChanges(userId, consents);
await this.updateDataProcessing(userId, consents);
}
}
```
### SOC 2 Compliance
- Implement comprehensive logging and monitoring
- Maintain data encryption at rest and in transit
- Regular access reviews and privilege management
- Incident response procedures documented and tested
- Vendor risk management for third-party integrations
## Next Steps
- **Implementation**: Apply security measures during development
- **Testing**: Include security testing in your CI/CD pipeline
- **Monitoring**: Set up continuous security monitoring
- **Training**: Ensure team understands security practices
- **Reviews**: Regular security reviews and penetration testing
For additional security guidance, see our [Deployment Guide](deployment.md) and [Troubleshooting Guide](TROUBLESHOOTING.md).
---
_Security is an ongoing process. Regularly review and update these practices based on evolving threats and best practices._