Manu Kumar Pal

Posted on Jul 28

🔒 Top 7 Security Practices Every Backend Developer Must Know

#backend #security #node #express

Hey community! 👋

Backend security is not optional—it’s your first line of defense against attacks, data breaches, and downtime. Whether you’re building a simple API or managing a large-scale application, these 7 essential security practices will help you keep your systems safe and reliable.

✅ 1. Use HTTPS Everywhere

✔ Always serve your app over HTTPS using SSL/TLS.
✔ This prevents Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attacks and ensures encrypted communication.

👉 Services like Let’s Encrypt make it easy to get free SSL certificates for your server.

✅ 2. Validate & Sanitize Input

✔ Never trust user input—validate and sanitize everything!
✔ This protects you from SQL Injection and XSS (Cross-Site Scripting) attacks.

Example (Node.js + Express):

import validator from "validator";

app.post("/register", (req, res) => {
  const email = req.body.email;

  if (!validator.isEmail(email)) {
    return res.status(400).send("Invalid Email");
  }

  res.send("Email is valid");
});

✅ 3. Hash Passwords with bcrypt

✔ Never store passwords in plain text.
✔ Use strong hashing algorithms like bcrypt or argon2.

Example:

import bcrypt from "bcrypt";

const password = "user_password";
const hashedPassword = await bcrypt.hash(password, 10);

console.log("Hashed Password:", hashedPassword);

✅ 4. Use JWT Tokens Securely

✔ Sign JWTs with a strong secret key.
✔ Use short expiration times and implement refresh tokens.
✔ Never store tokens in localStorage—use HTTP-only cookies instead.

Example (Signing a JWT):

import jwt from "jsonwebtoken";

const token = jwt.sign({ userId: 123 }, process.env.JWT_SECRET, {
  expiresIn: "1h"
});

console.log("JWT Token:", token);

✅ 5. Limit API Rate & Prevent Brute Force Attacks

✔ Implement rate limiting to prevent abuse and DoS attacks.

Example using express-rate-limit:

import rateLimit from "express-rate-limit";

const limiter = rateLimit({
  windowMs: 15 * 60 * 1000, // 15 minutes
  max: 100, // limit each IP to 100 requests per window
});

app.use(limiter);

✅ 6. Protect Against CSRF Attacks

✔ Use CSRF tokens for forms.
✔ Enable SameSite cookies for session protection.

Example with csurf in Express:

import csrf from "csurf";

const csrfProtection = csrf({ cookie: true });
app.use(csrfProtection);

✅ 7. Secure Environment Variables

✔ Store sensitive data like API keys and DB credentials in .env files.
✔ Never commit them to GitHub!
✔ Use tools like dotenv or cloud-based secret managers.

Example:

# .env
JWT_SECRET=supersecretkey
DB_PASSWORD=mysecurepassword
Load in your app:


import dotenv from "dotenv";
dotenv.config();

console.log(process.env.JWT_SECRET);

🔥 Wrap-Up

Security isn’t just a feature—it’s a responsibility. Following these best practices will protect your users, data, and reputation.

💬 Which security practice do you always implement first? Or should I write a full post on JWT authentication with refresh tokens next? Drop your thoughts below! 👇

DEV Community

🔒 Top 7 Security Practices Every Backend Developer Must Know

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