Security

Security built in from the start behaves differently from security added later. When secrets, network boundaries, and access controls are first-class concerns in the design — rather than a checklist applied to a finished system — the resulting environment is easier to operate, easier to audit, and harder to compromise.

We implement layered defences: a compromised application credential should not give network access; a network compromise should not expose unencrypted secrets; an exposed secret should have a short enough lifetime that the window of opportunity is narrow.

Secrets Management

Every secret stored in a configuration file, committed to a repository, or rotated manually is a vulnerability waiting to become an incident. We implement secrets infrastructure that issues credentials dynamically, enforces short lifetimes, and provides a full audit trail — so a leaked secret is an inconvenience rather than a breach.

• HashiCorp Vault — dynamic secret generation for databases and SSH; PKI secrets engine for on-demand certificate issuance; comprehensive audit log configuration
• Internal PKI — a private certificate authority for internal TLS; short-lived certificates that expire before they can be meaningfully exploited, renewed automatically
• Secret rotation — automated rotation policies that applications survive without downtime; integration patterns for services that cannot tolerate connection interruption
• Least-privilege — Vault policies and LDAP group membership designed so each service and user has exactly the access they need and nothing more

Perimeter Security

A network perimeter is not a substitute for defence-in-depth, but it is a necessary component. We design perimeter controls that are explicit, auditable, and minimally permissive — a default-deny posture where every allowed path is documented and justified.

• pfSense firewall — stateful packet inspection; VLAN-aware rules; traffic shaping and rate limiting; Suricata IDS/IPS integration
• WireGuard VPN — site-to-site tunnels between locations; remote access for individuals; segmented access where VPN clients reach only what they need
• NGINX Forward Auth — zero-trust access pattern for internal tools; every request authenticated before reaching the application, regardless of network location
• Zero-trust patterns — identity-based access rather than network-location-based trust; each service verifies the identity of every caller

Hardening

Hardening reduces the attack surface of a running system. It is not a one-time activity — it requires periodic review as the system evolves, new services are added, and the threat model changes. We approach hardening systematically: start with what is exposed, work inward to what is privileged.

• Security audits — systematic review of exposed services, open ports, privilege boundaries, and secret handling; findings ranked by exploitability and impact
• Code review for security — identifying injection vulnerabilities, insecure defaults, credential handling issues, and dependency risks in application code
• Infrastructure hardening — disabling unused services, enforcing SSH key authentication, CIS Benchmark alignment for Linux hosts and containers
• Incident response planning — documenting what to do when something goes wrong; runbooks for common failure and compromise scenarios so the response is not improvised under pressure

Who this is for

Teams running self-hosted infrastructure who want to know their environment is actually secure — not just compliant with a checklist. Small businesses handling sensitive client data who need defensible security without a dedicated security team. Developers who have built something and want an independent review before it goes live.