Security 🛡️

Ensuring the security of your web application is paramount. This section outlines the security measures, best practices, and considerations for safeguarding your application and its data.

Authentication and Authorization

Authentication

Our application uses strong authentication methods to ensure that only authorized users can access their accounts. We employ the following security features:

Password Hashing: User passwords are securely hashed and salted before storage to prevent unauthorized access.
JSON Web Tokens (JWT): JWTs are used for authentication, which provides secure and stateless user sessions.
OAuth2: We support OAuth2 for third-party integrations, allowing users to grant access to their accounts securely.

Authorization

Role-based access control (RBAC) is used to manage user permissions and ensure that each user can perform only authorized actions. Here's a high-level overview:

User Roles: User roles are defined, such as volunteer and student each with different levels of access.
Permissions: Permissions are assigned to roles, specifying which actions and data each role can access.
Fine-Grained Access: We implement fine-grained access control to restrict actions within the application.

Data Encryption

Data security is maintained using encryption techniques to protect sensitive information:

HTTPS: All data transmission between the client and the server is encrypted using HTTPS to prevent eavesdropping and man-in-the-middle attacks.
Data-at-Rest Encryption: Sensitive data in the database is encrypted to protect against data breaches.

Security Best Practices

To enhance security, consider the following best practices:

Regular Security Audits: Conduct regular security audits and penetration testing to identify vulnerabilities and address them promptly.
User Education: Educate users on security best practices, such as using strong, unique passwords.
Update Dependencies: Keep all software dependencies and libraries up-to-date to patch known security vulnerabilities.
Logging and Monitoring: Implement thorough logging and monitoring to detect and respond to security incidents.
Incident Response Plan: Have an incident response plan in place to handle security breaches effectively.