Draft IT Security Checklist: Protecting Your DocumentationDocumentation is often overlooked when teams focus on code, infrastructure, and user data — yet documentation can contain sensitive information (API keys, architecture diagrams, internal processes) and therefore becomes an attractive attack surface. This checklist covers practical, prioritized controls and processes to protect documentation throughout its lifecycle: creation, storage, sharing, versioning, and disposal.
Why documentation security matters
- Documentation may expose secrets (credentials, endpoints, network diagrams).
- Leaked docs enable social engineering, targeted attacks, and faster lateral movement.
- Poorly managed documentation undermines regulatory compliance and incident response.
- Documentation persists longer than code — risk compounds over time.
1. Classify documentation by sensitivity
- Create a clear classification scheme (e.g., Public, Internal, Confidential, Restricted).
- Define examples for each level (e.g., public user guides vs. internal runbooks with secrets).
- Require metadata tags for every doc indicating classification, owner, and retention period.
2. Minimize sensitive content in docs
- Avoid embedding secrets (API keys, passwords, tokens) in documentation.
- Use placeholders and reference vaults or secret-management flows instead.
- Where necessary, include only hashed or redacted values, never plaintext credentials.
3. Centralize storage and enforce access controls
- Store documentation in a managed platform (document management system, internal wiki) rather than personal drives.
- Enforce role-based access control (RBAC) aligned with classification levels.
- Apply the principle of least privilege (grant access only as needed, with time-bound approvals for exceptions).
- Implement single sign-on (SSO) and multifactor authentication (MFA) for access to doc platforms.
- Log and monitor access to sensitive docs.
4. Use version control with audit trails
- For technical docs (architecture, runbooks), use version control (e.g., Git) so changes are auditable.
- Require pull requests and reviews for changes to high-sensitivity documents.
- Keep immutable audit logs showing who changed what and when.
5. Protect data in transit and at rest
- Ensure TLS/HTTPS is enforced for web-based documentation platforms.
- Use full-disk/encryption-at-rest or platform-provided encryption for stored documents.
- Manage encryption keys securely (ideally via HSMs or managed key services).
6. Redaction and sanitization processes
- Require redaction of sensitive information before publishing or sharing outside the intended audience.
- Provide templates and automated redaction tools (regex-based scanners, DLP integrations) to reduce human error.
- Maintain a checklist for sanitizing exported documents (screenshots, logs).
7. Integrate with secrets management
- Reference secrets stored in a secrets manager (Vault, AWS Secrets Manager, Azure Key Vault) rather than embedding them.
- Document the process to retrieve secrets (with necessary access checks) rather than the secret itself.
- Educate authors on the difference between documenting a secret’s usage versus including the secret.
8. Secure collaboration and sharing
- Use secure sharing links with expiration and download controls.
- Restrict external sharing by default; require escalation for exceptions.
- For third-party access, use time-limited accounts and monitor activity closely.
9. Continuous scanning and Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
- Deploy automated scanners that detect secrets, personal data, or sensitive patterns in repositories and wikis.
- Integrate DLP policies into content platforms to block or quarantine risky documents.
- Schedule regular scans and prioritize remediation for high-risk findings.
10. Incident response & breach handling for documentation
- Include documentation repositories in your incident response plan.
- Define steps: isolate access, rotate any exposed secrets, identify affected docs, notify stakeholders, and perform forensic analysis.
- Maintain an incident playbook specifically for documentation leaks.
11. Retention, archival, and secure disposal
- Define retention policies by classification; auto-archive or delete stale documents.
- Ensure archives remain protected with the same or stronger controls.
- Securely delete or wipe documents and backups when retention expires.
12. Training, ownership, and accountability
- Assign document owners responsible for classification, periodic review, and access requests.
- Train authors and reviewers on security best practices and the organization’s checklist.
- Run periodic tabletop exercises focused on documentation incidents.
13. Templates, automation, and guardrails
- Provide secure templates that avoid including sensitive fields and guide authors to safe practices.
- Automate common tasks: classification prompts, required metadata, access provisioning requests, redaction helpers.
- Use pre-commit hooks or CI checks for docs stored in version control to enforce policies.
14. Legal, compliance, and third-party considerations
- Ensure documentation handling meets regulatory obligations (GDPR, HIPAA, SOC2) relevant to your organization.
- Include contractual requirements for third parties that access or host documentation.
- Maintain records of disclosures and who had access to sensitive documents.
15. Tools checklist (examples)
- Secrets management: HashiCorp Vault, AWS Secrets Manager, Azure Key Vault
- Version control: Git, GitHub/GitLab with protected branches and audits
- Documentation platforms: Confluence, Notion (self-hosted where possible), internal wikis
- DLP and scanning: Git-secrets, TruffleHog, Spectral, commercial DLP suites
- Authentication: Identity provider with SSO + MFA (Okta, Azure AD)
- Encryption & key management: KMS, HSM solutions
Quick prioritization (first 30–90 days)
- Enforce MFA and SSO for doc platforms.
- Deploy automated secret scanners across repos and wikis.
- Apply RBAC and restrict external sharing.
- Train authors on never embedding secrets; provide templates.
- Enable logging and alerting for access to high-sensitivity docs.
Measuring effectiveness
- Number of secret incidents found over time (should decrease).
- Percentage of documents classified.
- Time to remediate exposed secrets or misclassified docs.
- Access review completion rate for sensitive documents.
- Audit results from internal/external assessments.
Protecting documentation is a combination of technology, process, and culture. Start with low-effort, high-impact controls (MFA, scanning, RBAC), then formalize classification, automation, and incident-response practices.
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