Security feels overwhelming.

There's OWASP top 10. PCI compliance. GDPR requirements. SOC 2 audits. Penetration testing. The list goes on forever.

As a solo founder, you can't do all of it. But you can't ignore it either.

Here's what actually matters when you're small.

The Minimum Viable Security

Start with the basics. These aren't optional:

Use HTTPS everywhere. No exceptions. Free with Let's Encrypt. There's no excuse.

Hash passwords properly. Use bcrypt, scrypt, or Argon2. Never store plaintext. Never use MD5 or SHA1.

Keep dependencies updated. Known vulnerabilities in packages are low-hanging fruit for attackers. Update regularly.

Use authentication libraries. Don't roll your own auth. Use established solutions—Auth0, Supabase, NextAuth. They've solved problems you haven't thought of.

These aren't advanced. They're table stakes.

The High-Value Security Wins

After the basics, focus on impact:

SQL injection protection. Use parameterized queries or an ORM. Never concatenate user input into SQL strings. This is basic but still catches people.

Input validation. Don't trust user input. Validate type, length, format. On the server, not just the client.

Rate limiting. Protect login endpoints. Protect API routes. Prevent brute force attacks.

Least privilege. Database users shouldn't have admin rights. API keys shouldn't have full access. Limit what each component can do.

These prevent the most common, most damaging attacks.

What You Can Skip (For Now)

Some things can wait until you're bigger:

SOC 2 certification. Expensive. Time-consuming. Usually only required for enterprise sales.

Penetration testing. Valuable but costly. Makes sense when you have revenue to justify it.

Bug bounty programs. Great in theory. Overwhelming when you're the only one responding.

Custom security infrastructure. Use managed services. Let AWS or Cloudflare handle the hard stuff.

These matter eventually. They don't have to matter today.

Secrets and Credentials

Handle secrets carefully:

Never commit secrets to git. Use environment variables. Use .env files that aren't tracked.

Rotate credentials periodically. Especially after someone leaves access. Especially after a breach.

Use secret managers. AWS Secrets Manager, HashiCorp Vault, Doppler. Better than environment variables for production.

Principle of separation. Different environments, different credentials. Dev doesn't use production keys.

Backups Are Security

When something goes wrong:

Automated backups. Daily minimum. Tested restores—a backup you can't restore is worthless.

Off-site storage. Not just on the same server. Different region, different provider if possible.

Backup encryption. Especially for sensitive data.

The best security is recovery. You will get hacked or make mistakes. Backups are how you survive.

User Data Trust

If you collect user data:

Collect less. Don't collect what you don't need. Less data, less liability.

Encrypt sensitive data. Especially anything personally identifiable. At rest and in transit.

Document your practices. Privacy policy. Terms of service. Be transparent.

Have a breach plan. Know what you'll do if data leaks. Notification requirements vary by jurisdiction.

Trust is hard to earn and easy to lose.

Security Hygiene

Day-to-day practices:

Password manager. Use one. Unique passwords everywhere. No exceptions.

Two-factor authentication. On everything important. Your email, your hosting, your domain registrar.

Regular audits. Monthly review of access. Who has credentials? Remove what's not needed.

Logging. Know what's happening in your system. You can't respond to what you can't see.

The Trade-Off

Security is a spectrum. You're trading effort against risk.

Too little security: One breach ends your business.

Too much security: You never ship because you're afraid.

Find the middle. Cover the basics. Ship. Improve security as you grow, as revenue allows, as threats materialize.

Perfect security doesn't exist. Good-enough security does.

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