Security

Security Documentation

This section covers comprehensive security architecture, best practices, and implementation guidelines for Arches, ensuring data protection, user privacy, and system integrity.

Security Philosophy

Arches follows a defense-in-depth approach with multiple security layers, assuming breach scenarios, and implementing zero-trust principles throughout the platform.

Documentation Structure

• Security Overview - Core security model and principles (this document)
• Best Practices - Development and operational security guidelines
• Authentication Architecture - Detailed auth implementation

Security Architecture

1. Network Security Layer

TLS/HTTPS Encryption

• All traffic encrypted with TLS 1.3 minimum
• HTTP Strict Transport Security (HSTS) enabled
• Certificate pinning for mobile clients
• Automatic SSL certificate renewal via Let's Encrypt

DDoS Protection

• Rate limiting per IP and user account
• CloudFlare or AWS Shield integration
• Automatic blocking of suspicious patterns
• Geographic restrictions when needed

Network Segmentation

Code
 
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│           Public Internet                   │
└──────────────────┬──────────────────────────┘
                   │
        ┌──────────▼──────────┐
        │    WAF/CDN Layer    │
        │   (CloudFlare/AWS)  │
        └──────────┬──────────┘
                   │
        ┌──────────▼──────────┐
        │    Load Balancer    │
        │   (TLS Termination) │
        └──────────┬──────────┘
                   │
        ┌──────────▼──────────┐
        │   Application Tier  │
        │  (Kubernetes Pods)  │
        └──────────┬──────────┘
                   │
        ┌──────────▼──────────┐
        │    Database Tier    │
        │   (Private Subnet)  │
        └─────────────────────┘

2. Application Security Layer

Authentication & Authorization

JWT Token Security:

• Short-lived access tokens (15 minutes)
• Refresh tokens with rotation
• Token blacklisting on logout
• Secure token storage (httpOnly cookies)

Code
 
// Token generation with security claims
type Claims struct {
    UserID       uuid.UUID `json:"user_id"`
    Email        string    `json:"email"`
    Organization uuid.UUID `json:"org_id"`
    Permissions  []string  `json:"permissions"`
    jwt.StandardClaims
}

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA):

• TOTP support (Google Authenticator, Authy)
• SMS backup codes
• WebAuthn/FIDO2 for passwordless
• Recovery codes for account recovery

Input Validation & Sanitization

Request Validation:

• OpenAPI schema validation
• SQL injection prevention via parameterized queries
• XSS protection through content sanitization
• File upload restrictions and scanning

Code
 
// Example validation middleware
func ValidateRequest(schema *openapi.Schema) echo.MiddlewareFunc {
    return func(next echo.HandlerFunc) echo.HandlerFunc {
        return func(c echo.Context) error {
            if err := schema.Validate(c.Request()); err != nil {
                return echo.NewHTTPError(400, "Invalid request")
            }
            return next(c)
        }
    }
}

CORS Configuration

Code
 
// Strict CORS policy
cors.Config{
    AllowOrigins:     []string{"https://app.archesai.com"},
    AllowMethods:     []string{"GET", "POST", "PUT", "DELETE"},
    AllowHeaders:     []string{"Authorization", "Content-Type"},
    AllowCredentials: true,
    MaxAge:          86400,
}

3. Data Security Layer

Encryption at Rest

• Database encryption using PostgreSQL TDE
• File storage encryption with AES-256
• Secrets encrypted with HashiCorp Vault
• Backup encryption with separate keys

Encryption in Transit

• TLS for all internal service communication
• mTLS for service-to-service auth
• Encrypted message queues
• VPN for administrative access

Data Classification

Level	Description	Examples	Protection
Critical	Highly sensitive data	Passwords, API keys	Encrypted, audited, restricted access
Confidential	Private user data	PII, financial data	Encrypted, access controlled
Internal	Business data	Analytics, metrics	Access controlled
Public	Open information	Documentation	No special protection

4. Identity & Access Management

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)

Code
 
roles:
  owner:
    permissions: ["*"]
    description: "Full organization access"

  admin:
    permissions:
      - "users:*"
      - "settings:*"
      - "billing:view"

  member:
    permissions:
      - "projects:create"
      - "projects:read"
      - "projects:update:owned"

  viewer:
    permissions:
      - "projects:read"
      - "settings:read"

API Key Management

• Scoped API keys with specific permissions
• Key rotation policies
• Automatic expiration
• Usage tracking and rate limiting

5. Security Monitoring & Compliance

Audit Logging

Code
 
{
  "timestamp": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
  "user_id": "usr_123",
  "action": "DELETE",
  "resource": "organizations/org_456",
  "ip_address": "192.168.1.1",
  "user_agent": "Mozilla/5.0...",
  "result": "success",
  "metadata": {
    "organization_name": "Example Org"
  }
}

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)

• Real-time threat detection
• Anomaly detection with ML
• Automated incident response
• Security dashboard and alerts

Compliance Standards

• GDPR: Data privacy and user rights
• SOC 2 Type II: Security controls audit
• OWASP Top 10: Web application security
• PCI DSS: Payment card security (if applicable)

6. Vulnerability Management

Dependency Scanning

Code
 
# GitHub Actions security scanning
- name: Run security scan
  uses: github/codeql-action/analyze@v2

- name: Dependency check
  run: |
    go list -json -m all | nancy sleuth
    npm audit --audit-level=moderate

Penetration Testing

• Quarterly external penetration tests
• Automated security scanning in CI/CD
• Bug bounty program for critical vulnerabilities
• Regular security assessments

7. Incident Response

Response Plan

1. Detection: Automated alerts and monitoring
2. Containment: Isolate affected systems
3. Investigation: Root cause analysis
4. Remediation: Fix vulnerabilities
5. Recovery: Restore normal operations
6. Post-mortem: Document and improve

Security Contacts

• Security team: security@archesai.com
• Vulnerability disclosure: security@archesai.com

Security Checklist

Development

• Code review for security issues
• Dependency vulnerability scanning
• Static code analysis (SAST)
• Dynamic security testing (DAST)
• Secret scanning in repositories

Deployment

• Environment hardening
• Security group configuration
• SSL/TLS certificate validation
• Secrets management setup
• Monitoring and alerting configuration

Operations

• Regular security updates
• Access review and rotation
• Backup verification
• Incident response drills
• Compliance audits

Security Tools & Resources

Recommended Tools

• Secret Management: HashiCorp Vault, AWS Secrets Manager
• Vulnerability Scanning: Snyk, Dependabot, Trivy
• SIEM: Splunk, ELK Stack, Datadog
• WAF: CloudFlare, AWS WAF, ModSecurity
• Monitoring: Prometheus, Grafana, New Relic

Security Resources

• OWASP Security Guidelines
• NIST Cybersecurity Framework
• CIS Security Benchmarks
• AWS Security Best Practices

Getting Help

For security-related questions or to report vulnerabilities:

• Email: security@archesai.com
• Documentation: Security Best Practices
• Authentication Guide: Authentication Architecture
• Deployment Security: Production Deployment

Remember: Security is everyone's responsibility. When in doubt, ask the security team.