Security & Privacy Requirements
Key Security & Privacy Requirements in a Portal
A general breakdown of security & privacy requirements that may be specified / enforced when building a web portal system.
| Category / Domain | Sample Requirement(s) | Notes / Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Authentication & Identity / Access | Support strong, multi-factor authentication (MFA / 2FA) | Reduces risk of account compromise |
| Use role-based access control (RBAC), least privilege | Only grant users the minimum permissions needed | |
| Support single sign-on (SSO) / federated identity (SAML, OAuth, OpenID Connect) | For enterprise integration and centralized identity management | |
| Session management & timeout / idle logout | Prevent session hijacking or misuse | |
| Authorization & Access Control | Fine-grained permissions (per module, per field, per record) | Some users may see only subsets of data |
| Row-level / object-level filtering of data based on user context | So dashboards / reports respect user scope | |
| Data Encryption & Storage | Encryption in transit (TLS 1.2 or higher) | All communication over HTTPS / TLS to protect data in flight |
| Encryption at rest (AES, etc.) | Data stored is protected even if storage is compromised | |
| Key management practices (rotation, separation of duties) | Ensures encryption keys aren’t the weak link | |
| Logging, Auditing & Monitoring | Maintain audit trail of all significant user or system actions (create, read, update, delete) | Enables forensic investigation, compliance |
| Log retention, archival, secure storage of logs | Logs must themselves be protected | |
| Monitoring / alerting on anomalous activity | Detect unusual or suspicious behavior | |
| Secure Application & API | Secure coding practices (OWASP, input validation, sanitization) | To prevent injection, XSS, CSRF, etc. |
| Web application firewall (WAF), API gateways, rate limiting | Protect from bots, DoS, abuse | |
| Penetration testing, vulnerability scanning, code reviews | Regular security testing to find flaws | |
| Integration / Third-Party Interfaces | Secure APIs / connectors (API keys, OAuth, mutual TLS) | External integrations must be authorized and secured |
| Input validation and sanitization on inbound data | To avoid injection via integrations | |
| Limiting what data is shared / exposed | Only share minimal attributes / fields needed | |
| Data Privacy / Personal Data Handling | Data minimization (collect only what is needed) | Reduces exposure |
| Consent, purpose limitation, and user consent where needed | Especially under GDPR / privacy laws | |
| Anonymization / pseudonymization where possible | To reduce sensitivity of stored data | |
| Data retention / deletion policies | Automatically delete or archive data per policy | |
| Rights to access, correction, deletion (as per privacy laws) | Users can request deletion or export, where law requires | |
| Data residency / localization (store data in specific geographies) | Some jurisdictions require data to stay within borders | |
| Privacy by design / default | Ensure privacy is integrated from the start | |
| Availability & Resilience | Backups and disaster recovery (RTO / RPO) | To recover from system failures or data loss |
| Redundancy, failover, high availability architecture | To reduce downtime | |
| DDoS protection, network security controls | Protect against attacks aimed at service disruption | |
| Compliance & Legal / Regulatory | Compliance with applicable standards (GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, SOC 2, ISO 27001) | For sectors (health, finance, etc.) or geographies Valence Security+1 |
| Contractual agreements / Data Processing Agreements (DPA) | Define roles, responsibilities, liability around data | |
| Security audits, third-party certifications, assessments | To provide assurance to clients | |
| Operational / Procedural Controls | Security policy, incident response plan, breach notification | Prepare to act in case of security incident |
| Personnel training, background checks, least-trust model | Human factor is a major risk | |
| Vendor risk management (for third-party dependencies) | Ensure all dependent services meet security standards | |
| Change management and version control for config / deployments | Prevent accidental misconfigurations | |
| Segregation & Multi-Tenancy Controls | Data isolation between customers / tenants | Avoid data leakage or bleed between tenants |
| Resource / compute isolation (containers, separate schemas) | Each customer’s resources should not interfere | |
| Secure Development Lifecycle | Integrate security in design, development, testing, deployment | Not as an afterthought (privacy by design) |
| Incident Detection & Response | Monitoring, alerting, playbooks for response | Be able to respond to breaches or anomalies quickly |
| Transparency & User Controls | Clear privacy policy, terms, disclosures | Users must know what data is used, how, by whom |
| Auditability and transparency into system behavior | Users / clients should have visibility into logs, history (within permitted scope) |
This list is not exhaustive, but it covers the major areas you should expect in a secure, privacy-aware Pantegral portal system:
- SaaS applications are accessible over the Internet, which inherently expands exposure to external threats.
- Misconfiguration (e.g. public buckets, open APIs) is one of the most common security vulnerabilities in self hosted SaaS portals.
- Identity compromise (stolen credentials, token misuse) is a key vector in SaaS breaches.
- Data privacy regulations (GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, others) impose legal obligations on how personal data is handled, giving users rights (deletion, access) and requiring transparency.
- Trust is a critical factor: clients entrust portals with sensitive or business-critical data; failure to meet security / privacy expectations can erode trust, cause reputational or legal harm.
- In multi-tenant hosting systems, a flaw affecting one customer must not compromise others.