Security and the Twelve-Factor App - Step 12
A blog series by WhiteHat Security
November 04, 2019

Eric Sheridan
WhiteHat Security

The final chapter of this blog series looks at Factor 12, Admin Processes, and shares security-focused advice for this step that developers and ops engineers can follow during the SaaS build and operations stages.

Start with Security and the Twelve-Factor App - Step 1
Start with Security and the Twelve-Factor App - Step 2
Start with Security and the Twelve-Factor App - Step 3
Start with Security and the Twelve-Factor App - Step 4
Start with Security and the Twelve-Factor App - Step 5
Start with Security and the Twelve-Factor App - Step 6
Start with Security and the Twelve-Factor App - Step 7
Start with Security and the Twelve-Factor App - Step 8
Start with Security and the Twelve-Factor App - Step 9
Start with Security and the Twelve-Factor App - Step 10
Start with Security and the Twelve-Factor App - Step 11

Defining Admin Processes in the Twelve-Factor App

The final and twelfth factor focuses on admin processes and running admin/management tasks as one-off processes.

By this, 12.factor.net means that “one-off admin processes should be run in an identical environment as the regular long-running processes of the app. They run against a release, using the same codebase and config as any process run against that release. Admin code must ship with application code to avoid synchronization issues.”

Applying Security to Step 12

From a security standpoint, admin processes must be subject to the same security scrutiny as prescribed for factors I to XI. Incorporate one-off admin processes as part of product discussions and understand the security risks associated with one-off admin processes.

Eric Sheridan is Chief Scientist at WhiteHat Security
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