Security is the one thing you can't retrofit after launch. A data breach destroys customer trust instantly and may have legal consequences. Here are the 15 security steps I complete on every SaaS before it goes live.

Authentication Security

  • Use a managed auth provider — Clerk or Auth0. Never roll your own authentication.
  • Enforce strong passwords — minimum 10 characters, check against known breached password lists
  • Enable MFA — offer (or require) two-factor authentication for all accounts
  • Short session expiry — expire sessions after 24 hours of inactivity

Data Security

  • Row-level security — enforce data isolation at the database level with Supabase RLS
  • Encrypt sensitive data — encrypt PII (emails, names, phone numbers) at rest
  • No sensitive data in logs — never log passwords, tokens, or payment data
  • Secure file uploads — validate file types and sizes, scan for malware

API Security

  • Rate limiting — limit API requests per user per minute/hour
  • Input validation — never trust user input. Validate and sanitize everything.
  • CORS configuration — only allow requests from your own domain
  • API key rotation — rotate all third-party API keys before launch and store in secrets manager

Infrastructure Security

  • Environment secrets — never commit API keys or secrets to source control
  • HTTPS everywhere — enforce HTTPS on all routes, redirect HTTP to HTTPS
  • Security headers — add Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options headers

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These 15 steps aren't optional niceties — they're the baseline for any SaaS product that handles user data. I implement all of them on every project I build.

Security Is Not a One-Time Checklist

Completing this checklist before launch is necessary but not sufficient. Security requires ongoing attention: update your dependencies monthly to patch known vulnerabilities, review your third-party integrations quarterly to ensure you are still using the minimum required permissions, and subscribe to security advisory lists for every major library your SaaS depends on. Consider running a penetration test before reaching 1,000 customers — the cost is modest and the findings are almost always valuable. A security incident is 10–100x more expensive to handle than preventing it.