The unsafe default
Many security issues are not advanced attacks; they are unsafe defaults that nobody revisits.
Failure modes to watch
- Debug mode left on in production
- Overly broad API keys and service roles
- No baseline headers or abuse controls
Safer implementation patterns
- Ship with restrictive policies first.
- Automate environment hardening checks.
- Design rollback paths that preserve security controls.
Minimum controls for small teams
- HTTPS-only, secure cookies, CSP baseline.
- Rate limits and input validation by default.
- Secrets from managed stores, never source code.
Builder note: Security posture is mostly defaults and review discipline, not heroics.