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Securing a Production API: From Exposed Keys to Enterprise-Grade Protection

By Neo10 min read
SecurityAPIDevOpsProductionBest Practices
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Table of Contents

  • The Wake-Up Call
  • Issue #1: The Hardcoded API Key Nightmare
  • What We Found
  • The Fix
  • Issue #2: No API Authentication
  • What We Found
  • The Fix: Middleware-Based Authentication
  • Issue #3: XSS Vulnerability in Blog
  • What We Found
  • The Fix: Content Sanitization
  • Issue #4: CORS Misconfiguration
  • What We Found
  • The Fix: Restrictive Whitelist
  • Issue #5: Missing Security Headers
  • The Fix: Security Headers Middleware
  • The Complete Security Checklist
  • Authentication & Authorization ✅
  • Secrets Management ✅
  • CORS Configuration ✅
  • Input Validation ✅
  • Security Headers ✅
  • Error Handling ✅
  • Monitoring & Logging ✅
  • The Impact
  • Key Lessons
  • 1. Security is a Process, Not a Checklist
  • 2. Default to Secure
  • 3. Archive, Don't Delete
  • 4. Security Documentation is Critical
  • 5. Test Your Security
  • What's Next?
  • Content Security Policy (CSP)
  • Redis-Based Rate Limiting
  • Pre-Commit Security Hooks
  • Conclusion
  • Resources

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