INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
OUR SECURITY COMMITMENT
Security Principles:
OUR SECURITY COMMITMENT
- Multiple layers of security controls
- No single point of failure
- Redundant protection mechanisms
- Continuous monitoring and improvement
Continuous monitoring and improvement
- Privacy considerations integrated into all systems
- Data minimization and purpose limitation
- User control over personal information
- Transparency in data processing
Transparency in data processing
- Never trust, always verify
- Least privilege access model
- Continuous authentication and authorization
- Micro-segmentation of networks
Micro-segmentation of networks
- Secure configurations out-of-the-box
- Strong cryptography enabled automatically
- Regular security updates and patches
- Proactive threat prevention
Security Investments:
Proactive threat prevention
- Dedicated security engineering team
- Regular security audits and penetration testing
- Advanced threat detection and prevention systems
- Employee security training and awareness programs
- Continuous security research and improvement
- Partnerships with leading security vendors
ENCRYPTION AND DATA PROTECTION
3.1 Data Encryption in Transit
ENCRYPTION AND DATA PROTECTION
- All data transmitted between users and XPlus Finance servers is encrypted using TLS 1.3
- Perfect Forward Secrecy (PFS) ensures past communications remain secure even if keys are compromised
- Modern cipher suites with AEAD (Authenticated Encryption with Associated Data)
- Support for TLS 1.2 as fallback (minimum version)
Support for TLS 1.2 as fallback (minimum version)
- Primary: TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384
- Fallback: TLS_CHACHA20_POLY1305_SHA256
- Legacy support: TLS_AES_128_GCM_SHA256
- No support for weak or deprecated ciphers (RC4, DES, 3DES, MD5)
No support for weak or deprecated ciphers (RC4, DES, 3DES, MD5)
- Extended Validation (EV) SSL/TLS certificates
- Certificate pinning for mobile applications
- Automated certificate renewal and rotation
- Certificate Transparency (CT) logging
Certificate Transparency (CT) logging
- TLS 1.3 required for all API requests
- API keys transmitted securely via headers (never in URLs)
- OAuth 2.0 with PKCE for third-party integrations
- JWT tokens for authenticated sessions
3.2 Data Encryption at Rest
JWT tokens for authenticated sessions
- All sensitive user data encrypted at rest using AES-256-GCM
- Encryption applied at database, file storage, and backup levels
- Separate encryption keys for different data categories
- Hardware Security Modules (HSM) for key management
Hardware Security Modules (HSM) for key management
- User credentials and authentication tokens
- Bank account information and financial data
- Tax identification numbers (SSN, EIN)
- Payment method details (handled by Stripe, PCI DSS compliant)
- Personal identifiable information (PII)
- Communication records (emails, SMS)
Communication records (emails, SMS)
- AWS Key Management Service (KMS) for key storage
- Automatic key rotation every 90 days
- Multi-party authorization for key access
- Audit logging for all key operations
- Secure key destruction when data is deleted
Secure key destruction when data is deleted
- Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) for databases
- Encrypted backups with separate keys
- Field-level encryption for highly sensitive data (SSN, payment tokens)
- Encrypted indexes for searchability without exposure
3.3 Password Security
Encrypted indexes for searchability without exposure
- All user passwords hashed using bcrypt with cost factor 12
- Salted hashes (unique salt per password)
- Passwords never stored in plain text or reversible encryption
- Password history maintained to prevent reuse
Password history maintained to prevent reuse
- Minimum 12 characters
- Mix of uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols
- No common passwords or dictionary words (checked against known breach databases)
- No personal information (name, email, username)
No personal information (name, email, username)
- Time-limited reset tokens (valid for 1 hour)
- Single-use tokens (invalidated after use)
- Tokens delivered via verified email address only
- Account activity notification sent after password change
AUTHENTICATION AND ACCESS CONTROL
4.1 Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
AUTHENTICATION AND ACCESS CONTROL
- Time-based One-Time Passwords (TOTP) via authenticator apps
- SMS-based verification codes (time-limited to 10 minutes)
- Email verification codes
- Backup codes for account recovery (10 single-use codes)
Backup codes for account recovery (10 single-use codes)
- Strongly recommended for all users
- Required for premium accounts and high-value transactions
- Required for employees and administrators
- Enforced after suspicious activity detection
Enforced after suspicious activity detection
- TOTP generated using HMAC-SHA1 algorithm (RFC 6238)
- 6-digit codes with 30-second validity window
- Rate limiting on MFA attempts (5 attempts per 15 minutes)
- Account lockout after 10 failed MFA attempts
4.2 Session Management
Account lockout after 10 failed MFA attempts
- Secure, HTTP-only cookies (not accessible via JavaScript)
- SameSite attribute set to "Strict" or "Lax"
- Session tokens generated using cryptographically secure random number generator
- 256-bit session token entropy
256-bit session token entropy
- Active session timeout: 12 hours of continuous activity
- Idle timeout: 30 minutes of inactivity
- Remember me option: 30 days (requires MFA re-authentication for sensitive actions)
- Absolute timeout: 7 days maximum session lifetime
Absolute timeout: 7 days maximum session lifetime
- Immediate session invalidation upon logout
- Ability to revoke all sessions remotely
- Automatic revocation upon password change
- Session revocation upon account suspension
4.3 Access Control
Session revocation upon account suspension
- Principle of least privilege (minimum necessary permissions)
- Predefined roles: User, Premium User, Support Agent, Administrator, Developer
- Granular permission model for data access
- Regular access reviews and permission audits
Regular access reviews and permission audits
- Separated administrative accounts (not used for regular work)
- MFA required for all administrative access
- Privileged access management (PAM) system
- Just-in-time (JIT) access provisioning for sensitive operations
- All administrative actions logged and audited
All administrative actions logged and audited
- Row-level security in databases
- Data segregation by user account
- Encryption of sensitive fields
- Audit logging for all data access
- Automated alerts for unusual access patterns
NETWORK SECURITY
5.1 Firewall and Network Segmentation
NETWORK SECURITY
- Web Application Firewall (WAF) via Cloudflare
- Next-generation firewalls (NGFW) at infrastructure level
- Stateful packet inspection
- Default deny rules (only explicitly allowed traffic permitted)
Default deny rules (only explicitly allowed traffic permitted)
- Separation of production, staging, and development environments
- Isolation of database servers from public internet
- Private subnets for sensitive services
- VPC (Virtual Private Cloud) architecture on AWS
VPC (Virtual Private Cloud) architecture on AWS
- Cloudflare DDoS protection (Layer 3, 4, and 7)
- Rate limiting and traffic shaping
- Automatic mitigation of volumetric attacks
- 99.99% uptime SLA
5.2 Intrusion Detection and Prevention
99.99% uptime SLA
- Real-time monitoring of network traffic
- Signature-based detection for known threats
- Anomaly-based detection for zero-day threats
- Integration with threat intelligence feeds
Integration with threat intelligence feeds
- Automatic blocking of malicious traffic
- IP reputation filtering
- Geo-blocking for high-risk regions (configurable)
- Rate limiting to prevent brute-force attacks
Rate limiting to prevent brute-force attacks
- Centralized logging and correlation of security events
- Real-time alerting for security incidents
- Retention of security logs for 5 years
- Integration with incident response workflows
APPLICATION SECURITY
6.1 Secure Development Lifecycle
APPLICATION SECURITY
- Threat modeling for new features
- Security requirements defined in design phase
- Secure coding standards and guidelines
- Peer code reviews with security focus
Peer code reviews with security focus
- Input validation and sanitization
- Output encoding to prevent XSS
- Parameterized queries to prevent SQL injection
- CSRF tokens for state-changing operations
- Content Security Policy (CSP) headers
Content Security Policy (CSP) headers
- Static Application Security Testing (SAST) in CI/CD pipeline
- Dynamic Application Security Testing (DAST) in staging environment
- Software Composition Analysis (SCA) for dependency vulnerabilities
- Manual penetration testing quarterly
6.2 Common Vulnerability Prevention
Manual penetration testing quarterly
- Parameterized queries and prepared statements
- ORM (Object-Relational Mapping) frameworks
- Least privilege database accounts
- Input validation and type checking
Input validation and type checking
- Output encoding (HTML, JavaScript, URL)
- Content Security Policy (CSP)
- HTTP-only and Secure flags on cookies
- Sanitization of user-generated content
Sanitization of user-generated content
- CSRF tokens on all state-changing requests
- SameSite cookie attribute
- Custom request headers for API calls
- Verification of Origin and Referer headers
Verification of Origin and Referer headers
- X-Frame-Options header (DENY or SAMEORIGIN)
- Content-Security-Policy: frame-ancestors directive
- JavaScript frame-busting code as fallback
JavaScript frame-busting code as fallback
- Strict-Transport-Security (HSTS)
- X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff
- X-XSS-Protection: 1; mode=block
- Referrer-Policy: strict-origin-when-cross-origin
- Permissions-Policy for feature control
6.3 API Security
Permissions-Policy for feature control
- Bearer token authentication (JWT)
- API key authentication for server-to-server
- OAuth 2.0 for third-party integrations
- Short-lived access tokens (1 hour) and long-lived refresh tokens
Short-lived access tokens (1 hour) and long-lived refresh tokens
- Token-based authorization
- Scope-based permissions
- Resource-level access control
- Rate limiting per user and API key
Rate limiting per user and API key
- General API: 1,000 requests per hour per user
- Authentication endpoints: 10 requests per 15 minutes
- Premium API: 10,000 requests per hour
- Automatic throttling with 429 status code
Automatic throttling with 429 status code
- HTTPS required for all API endpoints
- No sensitive data in URL parameters
- Request and response validation
- API versioning for backward compatibility
- Comprehensive API documentation with security guidelines
INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY
7.1 Cloud Infrastructure (AWS)
INFRASTRUCTURE SECURITY
- AWS Shield for DDoS protection
- AWS GuardDuty for threat detection
- AWS Inspector for vulnerability assessment
- AWS CloudTrail for audit logging
- AWS Config for compliance monitoring
AWS Config for compliance monitoring
- Regular patching of EC2 instances (automated monthly)
- Immutable infrastructure (no SSH access to production)
- Container security scanning for Docker images
- Lambda function isolation and least privilege IAM roles
Lambda function isolation and least privilege IAM roles
- S3 bucket encryption enabled by default
- S3 bucket policies enforcing private access
- S3 versioning for data recovery
- S3 access logging for audit trail
S3 access logging for audit trail
- RDS database encryption at rest (AES-256)
- RDS automated backups (retained for 30 days)
- Database activity monitoring
- Private subnets (no direct internet access)
- Least privilege database user accounts
7.2 Infrastructure Hardening
Least privilege database user accounts
- Minimal OS installation (only required packages)
- Disabled unnecessary services and ports
- Security patches applied within 7 days of release
- CIS benchmarks compliance
CIS benchmarks compliance
- Infrastructure as Code (IaC) using Terraform
- Version-controlled infrastructure configurations
- Automated deployment pipelines
- Configuration drift detection and remediation
Configuration drift detection and remediation
- AWS Secrets Manager for sensitive credentials
- Secrets rotation every 90 days
- No hardcoded secrets in code or configurations
- Encryption of secrets at rest and in transit
THIRD-PARTY SECURITY
8.1 Subprocessor Security Requirements
THIRD-PARTY SECURITY
- Security questionnaire and due diligence
- Review of security certifications (SOC 2, ISO 27001)
- Contractual security requirements
- Regular security audits and assessments
Regular security audits and assessments
- GDPR-compliant Data Processing Agreements (DPA)
- Standard Contractual Clauses (SCC) for international transfers
- Security and privacy obligations
- Subprocessor liability and indemnification
Subprocessor liability and indemnification
- Stripe: PCI DSS Level 1, SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001
- AWS: SOC 1/2/3, ISO 27001/27017/27018, PCI DSS Level 1
- OpenAI: SOC 2 Type II, encryption in transit and at rest
- Plaid: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, bank-level encryption
Subprocessor Security Verification Table
Plaid: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, bank-level encryption
Plaid: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, bank-level encryption
- All active subprocessors have executed Data Processing Agreements (DPAs)
- All international data transfers covered by Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs)
- All subprocessors meet or exceed minimum encryption standards (TLS 1.2+, AES-256)
- Security certifications current and verified within last 12 months
- Security audits completed within last 6 months
Security audits completed within last 6 months
- Critical subprocessors (Stripe, AWS, Plaid): Quarterly security reviews
- High-risk subprocessors (OpenAI, payment/financial): Quarterly reviews
- Standard subprocessors: Semi-annual reviews
- All subprocessors: Annual comprehensive security assessment
All subprocessors: Annual comprehensive security assessment
All subprocessors: Annual comprehensive security assessment
- GDPR Article 28 compliance for data processing
- ISO 27001 or SOC 2 Type II certification (or equivalent)
- Encryption in transit (TLS 1.2 minimum, TLS 1.3 preferred)
- Encryption at rest (AES-256 or equivalent)
- Incident response procedures with 24-hour notification requirement
- Regular penetration testing and vulnerability assessments
Regular penetration testing and vulnerability assessments
8.2 Third-Party Code Security
Regular penetration testing and vulnerability assessments
- Automated dependency scanning (Dependabot, Snyk)
- Vulnerability alerts and automated patching
- Minimal dependency footprint
- Regular dependency updates (monthly)
Regular dependency updates (monthly)
- License compliance checks
- Security audit of critical dependencies
- Forking and self-hosting for critical libraries
- Contribution to upstream security fixes
DATA SECURITY AND PRIVACY
9.1 Data Minimization
DATA SECURITY AND PRIVACY
- Only collect data necessary for service delivery
- Optional fields clearly marked
- Consent-based collection for non-essential data
- Regular review of data collection practices
Regular review of data collection practices
- No permanent storage of sensitive credentials (bank passwords handled by Plaid)
- Tokenization of payment methods (Stripe tokens)
- Anonymization of analytics data
- Pseudonymization where possible
Pseudonymization where possible
- Data deleted according to Data Retention Policy
- Automated deletion processes
- Secure data destruction (cryptographic erasure)
- Backup retention limited to necessary periods
9.2 Data Privacy Controls
Backup retention limited to necessary periods
- Data access requests (export all data)
- Data deletion requests (right to be forgotten)
- Data portability (machine-readable format)
- Opt-out of marketing and analytics
Opt-out of marketing and analytics
- Privacy impact assessments for new features
- Privacy by design and by default
- Data anonymization for analytics and reporting
- Strict access controls on personal data
SECURITY MONITORING AND INCIDENT RESPONSE
10.1 24/7 Security Monitoring
SECURITY MONITORING AND INCIDENT RESPONSE
- Real-time monitoring of infrastructure and applications
- Automated anomaly detection using machine learning
- User behavior analytics (UBA)
- Threat intelligence integration
Threat intelligence integration
- Failed login attempts and authentication anomalies
- Unusual API usage patterns
- Database access patterns
- Network traffic anomalies
- System resource utilization
- Security log events
Security log events
- Automated alerts for security events
- Escalation procedures for critical alerts
- 24/7 on-call security team
- Integration with incident management system
10.2 Incident Response
Integration with incident management system
- Documented incident response procedures
- Defined roles and responsibilities
- Regular incident response drills (quarterly)
- Post-incident review and lessons learned
Post-incident review and lessons learned
- Detection: Automated monitoring and user reports
- Containment: Isolate affected systems, revoke compromised credentials
- Eradication: Remove threat, patch vulnerabilities
- Recovery: Restore services, verify integrity
- Post-Incident: Root cause analysis, improvement recommendations
Post-Incident: Root cause analysis, improvement recommendations
- Internal communication via dedicated security channel
- User notification within 72 hours for data breaches (GDPR requirement)
- Regulatory notification as required by law
- Transparency in breach disclosure
Transparency in breach disclosure
- Critical incidents: Response within 15 minutes
- High severity: Response within 1 hour
- Medium severity: Response within 4 hours
- Low severity: Response within 24 hours
VULNERABILITY MANAGEMENT
11.1 Vulnerability Scanning
VULNERABILITY MANAGEMENT
- Weekly vulnerability scans of infrastructure
- Continuous scanning of application code in CI/CD
- Dependency vulnerability scanning (daily)
- Web application vulnerability scanning (weekly)
Web application vulnerability scanning (weekly)
- Quarterly penetration testing by third-party security firms
- Annual comprehensive security assessment
- Scope includes web application, API, and infrastructure
- Remediation of findings within defined SLAs
11.2 Patch Management
Remediation of findings within defined SLAs
- Critical security patches: Within 24-48 hours
- High severity patches: Within 7 days
- Medium severity patches: Within 30 days
- Low severity patches: Next maintenance window
Low severity patches: Next maintenance window
- Automated patch deployment for infrastructure
- Staged rollout (staging → production)
- Rollback plan for each deployment
- Post-deployment verification
EMPLOYEE SECURITY
12.1 Security Training
EMPLOYEE SECURITY
- Security awareness training for all employees (onboarding and annual)
- GDPR and privacy training
- Secure coding training for developers
- Phishing awareness and simulation exercises
Phishing awareness and simulation exercises
- Advanced security training for security team
- Incident response training
- Threat hunting workshops
- Security certifications (CISSP, CEH, OSCP)
12.2 Employee Access Control
Security certifications (CISSP, CEH, OSCP)
- Unique user accounts for each employee
- MFA required for all employee access
- Just-in-time access provisioning
- Quarterly access reviews
Quarterly access reviews
- Background checks for all employees handling user data
- Non-disclosure agreements (NDA) signed by all employees
- Security clearance for security team members
Security clearance for security team members
- Immediate revocation of access upon termination
- Recovery of company devices and credentials
- Exit interviews with security reminders
COMPLIANCE AND CERTIFICATIONS
13.1 Regulatory Compliance
COMPLIANCE AND CERTIFICATIONS
- EU data residency for EU users
- Data Processing Agreements with subprocessors
- Privacy by design and by default
- Data breach notification within 72 hours
Data breach notification within 72 hours
- Transparency in data collection and use
- User rights to access, delete, and opt-out
- No sale of personal information
- Annual privacy policy updates
Annual privacy policy updates
- Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) compliance for AML
- Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures
- Tax reporting (Form 1099-K, 1099-NEC)
- Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) via Stripe
13.2 Security Certifications
Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) via Stripe
- SOC 2 Type II (in progress, expected Q2 2026)
- ISO 27001 (planned for 2026)
- PCI DSS compliance (via Stripe subprocessor)
PCI DSS compliance (via Stripe subprocessor)
- NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF)
- OWASP Top 10 security practices
- CIS Controls for infrastructure hardening
- SANS Top 25 software security errors
USER SECURITY RESPONSIBILITIES
14.1 Account Security
USER SECURITY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Use strong, unique passwords (password manager recommended)
- Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA)
- Keep contact information updated
- Review account activity regularly
- Log out from shared devices
- Avoid public Wi-Fi without VPN
Avoid public Wi-Fi without VPN
- Unexpected password reset emails
- Unfamiliar devices in session history
- Unauthorized transactions
- Suspicious emails claiming to be from XPlus Finance
14.2 Phishing Awareness
Suspicious emails claiming to be from XPlus Finance
- Check sender email address (official emails from @xplusfinance.org)
- Look for urgent language and threats
- Hover over links before clicking (verify URL)
- Watch for spelling and grammar errors
Watch for spelling and grammar errors
- Ask for your password via email or phone
- Request multi-factor authentication codes
- Send unsolicited attachments
- Threaten account closure without proper notice
Threaten account closure without proper notice
- Do not click links or download attachments
- Forward suspicious email to [email protected]
- Report phishing attempts
- Change password if credentials were entered
RESPONSIBLE DISCLOSURE PROGRAM
15.1 Vulnerability Disclosure Policy (VDP)
RESPONSIBLE DISCLOSURE PROGRAM
- XPlus Finance web application and APIs
- Mobile applications (iOS, Android)
- Subdomains and related services
- Publicly accessible infrastructure
Publicly accessible infrastructure
- Denial of Service (DoS) attacks
- Social engineering of employees
- Physical security testing
- Third-party services not controlled by XPlus Finance
Third-party services not controlled by XPlus Finance
- We will not pursue legal action against researchers who:
- Report vulnerabilities responsibly
- Do not exploit vulnerabilities for personal gain
- Do not disclose vulnerabilities publicly before remediation
- Act in good faith
15.2 How to Report Vulnerabilities
Act in good faith
- Email: [email protected]
- PGP Key: Available on our website for encrypted communications
- Subject Line: "Security Vulnerability Report - [Brief Description]"
Subject Line: "Security Vulnerability Report - [Brief Description]"
- Vulnerability description and impact assessment
- Steps to reproduce the issue
- Proof-of-concept (if applicable)
- Affected URLs, endpoints, or components
- Your name and contact information (optional for anonymous reports)
Your name and contact information (optional for anonymous reports)
- Acknowledgment: Within 24 hours
- Initial assessment: Within 3 business days
- Status updates: Weekly until resolution
- Remediation: Based on severity (critical within 7 days, high within 30 days)
Remediation: Based on severity (critical within 7 days, high within 30 days)
- Public acknowledgment on our Security Hall of Fame (with permission)
- Swag and rewards for significant findings (at our discretion)
- No monetary bug bounty program currently (planned for future)
SECURITY INCIDENT REPORTING
For Users:
SECURITY INCIDENT REPORTING
- Email: [email protected]
- Subject Line: "Security Incident Report"
Subject Line: "Security Incident Report"
- Nature of the incident (unauthorized access, data exposure, phishing)
- Date and time of occurrence
- Affected account or data
- Any evidence (screenshots, logs, emails)
Any evidence (screenshots, logs, emails)
- Acknowledge receipt within 24 hours
- Investigate the incident
- Take containment and remediation actions
- Notify affected users within 72 hours (if applicable)
- Provide incident summary and recommendations
BUSINESS CONTINUITY AND DISASTER RECOVERY
17.1 Backup Strategy
BUSINESS CONTINUITY AND DISASTER RECOVERY
- Database backups: Continuous (point-in-time recovery)
- Full backups: Daily (retained for 30 days)
- Weekly backups: Retained for 12 weeks
- Monthly backups: Retained for 12 months
Monthly backups: Retained for 12 months
- Encrypted backups (AES-256)
- Geographically distributed backup storage
- Backup integrity verification (monthly)
- Access controls on backup data
Access controls on backup data
- Monthly restore tests
- Quarterly disaster recovery drills
- Annual full-scale recovery exercise
17.2 Disaster Recovery
Annual full-scale recovery exercise
- Recovery Time Objective (RTO): 4 hours for critical systems
- Recovery Point Objective (RPO): 15 minutes (minimal data loss)
Recovery Point Objective (RPO): 15 minutes (minimal data loss)
- Documented procedures for various disaster scenarios
- Failover to secondary AWS region
- Automated failover for critical services
- Manual procedures for complete disaster recovery
Manual procedures for complete disaster recovery
- Multi-availability zone deployment
- Load balancing across multiple servers
- Database replication for failover
- 99.9% uptime SLA
CONTACT INFORMATION
Security Team:
CONTACT INFORMATION
- Email: [email protected]
- Response Time: Within 24-48 hours
Response Time: Within 24-48 hours
- Email: [email protected]
- Subject Line: "Vulnerability Report"
- PGP Key: Available at https://xplusfinance.com/pgp-key.txt
PGP Key: Available at https://xplusfinance.com/pgp-key.txt
- Email: [email protected]
- Subject Line: "Security Incident Report"
- Urgent Hotline: +1 (XXX) XXX-XXXX (for critical security emergencies)
Urgent Hotline: +1 (XXX) XXX-XXXX (for critical security emergencies)
- Email: [email protected]
- See Privacy Policy for detailed information
See Privacy Policy for detailed information
See Privacy Policy for detailed information
See Privacy Policy for detailed information
See Privacy Policy for detailed information
See Privacy Policy for detailed information
See Privacy Policy for detailed information
See Privacy Policy for detailed information