With the worsening state of the data threat environment, strong security practices are more important than ever. As the steward of your data, Daxko is responsible for its security, and it’s a duty we take very seriously.
Daxko’s guiding principle is that your data is your data, but we safeguard it. The goal is to be a good steward of what is arguably your most valuable asset, applying policies, practices, and technology to provide robust protection for your data and doing everything we can to deliver a stable environment with business continuity. But effective nonprofit data security doesn’t just happen. You have to engineer it right into the product itself.
Data security and software system security architecture are two crucial aspects of information security governance, which defines policies that ensure the secure storage, management, and transmission of personal data.
Here’s a look into how Daxko approaches nonprofit data security and software system security architecture to keep your data safe.
What Do Security Design Principles Look Like?
Daxko follows the best practice of embedding security into software architecture using security design principles. Daxko's security design principles are extensive, covering a range of functional requirements. Customers find this approach helpful as they grapple with advances in software development and new tools like AI. Daxko’s experts keep on top of security practices and build them in when designing and protecting systems. For example, as we design and develop nonprofit management software, the team always proceeds from the concept of least privilege access. For any functional area of the application, they restrict access to all but those users who need it before even writing a line of code. That’s the essence of security design principles.
For the sake of data security and privacy, security design principles are employed after identifying sensitive information that requires data encryption while in transit. For example, Daxko encrypts personal identifiable information – such as member names, birthdays, and address – to comply with privacy regulations. This practice protects your members while reducing the liability and cost of data breaches. Daxko takes the same approach with data storage, encrypting data at rest and rotating encryption keys.
Here’s a look into how Daxko approaches nonprofit data security and software system security architecture to keep your data safe.
Building in Durable, Detailed Logging
Thorough logging helps the team with threat detection and security forensics in the case of an attack. Daxko designs applications so the security team can monitor user activity and flag suspicious activity. Session management is built into every system as a countermeasure. This practice reduces the risk of a malicious actor breaching member data without being detected, while reasonable timeout parameters identify users and detect session hijacking.
Conducting Data Validation
Data validation is built-in risk mitigation for your data. Daxko employs web application firewalls to validate data requests. They detect and send alerts if an attacker is using cross-site scripting (XSS) injection attacks, SQL injections, overflow attempts, and unexpected inputs.
Designing Security Into the Network Architecture
The network is a significant attack surface, so Daxko applies network security controls to protect against data breaches. The network is segmented, reducing the risk of an attacker moving laterally across the network after a compromising endpoint.
Implementing Security Principles Into Practical Workflows
Effective software system security architecture needs to include practical workflows like patching. Many successful cyberattacks penetrate systems with known (but unpatched) vulnerabilities. Regularly updating and patching systems is an essential check against attacks that exploit known vulnerabilities. The team is obsessive about patching and conducts monthly internal scans against all assets, searching for external vulnerabilities against publicly accessible IP addresses.
Monitoring Security Feeds for New Zero-Day Threats
Daxko’s security operations center (SOC) continuously monitors a variety of security feeds, looking for known threats and “zero day” threats that can only be detected by observing anomalous behavior. Once the team detects a threat, their day-to-day security operations (SecOps) workflows prioritize critical threats for remediation. Daxko supports these practices by engaging an external firm to conduct penetration and segmentation testing.
Keeping Up With the Latest Secure Development Practices
Secure code is the bedrock of system security architecture. Daxko embeds security practices as early as possible in the software development life cycle (SDLC). As security issues emerge in the software development and testing processes, the team addresses them as quickly as possible. They also build threat modeling into the SDLC, conduct code reviews, and engage in code scanning and status application security testing.
Your data is your most valuable asset and keeping it secure is foundational to Daxko’s culture and corporate practices. Working together, we can deliver a reliable service that supports your organization while ensuring you and your members stay safe.
Want to Dive Deeper Into Daxko’s Data Security?
Learn more about how Daxko approaches data security by downloading a free copy of Data Security at Daxko.
Inside you’ll learn:
· Best practices you should follow to protect your data
· Which countermeasures Daxko employs to protect your data
· How Daxko builds security into the product development process
Download your free copy to learn more!