• pivot_root@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Tea was storing its users’ sensitive information on Firebase, a Google-owned backend cloud storage and computing service.

    Every time. With startups, it’s always an unsecured Firebase or S3 bucket.

    • NeilBrü@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      I’m certainly no web security expert, but shouldn’t Tea’s junior network/backend/security developers, let alone seniors, know how to secure said Firebase or S3 buckets with STARTTLS or SSL certificates? Shouldn’t a company like this have some sort of compliance department?

      • GissaMittJobb@lemmy.ml
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        1 month ago

        SSL is not the tool you need in this case, although you should obviously already be running exclusively on encrypted traffic.

        The problem here is one of access rights - you should not make files default-available for anyone that can figure out the file name to the particular file in the bucket. At the very least, you need to be using signed URLs with a reasonably short expiration, and default all other access to be blocked.

        • NeilBrü@lemmy.world
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          1 month ago

          As I mentioned in other comments, I am a noob when it comes to web-sec; please forgive what may be dumb questions.

          Is it really just permission rights “over-exposure” issue? Or does one need to also encrypt and then decrypt the data itself that must be sent to a database?

          Also, if you have time, recommend any links to web/cloud/SaaS security best practices “for dummies”?