App Security
SUCCESSION WILLS APP SECURITY OVERVIEW
Succession Wills is built with security as a core operating requirement, not as an afterthought. Because our platform handles highly personal estate-planning information, we design our application, deployment, and operational practices around reducing unnecessary exposure, validating requests aggressively, and keeping sensitive workflows on the server side whenever possible.
Our application stack is built around Vue on the frontend, Node.js and Express on the backend, and MongoDB for application data. The service is deployed on a hardened remote VPS behind HTTPS, with production services managed and monitored continuously. We treat document integrity, account security, and controlled system access as part of the product itself.
How we think about security
Our goal is not just to “have security features,” but to build multiple layers of defense so that no single control has to do all the work. In practice, that means combining authentication controls, request validation, browser hardening, origin restrictions, server-side payment verification, environment-based secret management, and operational monitoring.
We also distinguish carefully between public website traffic, authenticated application traffic, payment workflows, and privileged administrative actions. Different parts of the system are given different levels of access and different controls.
Application-level protections
At the application layer, Succession Wills uses a set of defensive controls designed to reduce the most common web attack paths and limit the blast radius of bad input or abusive traffic.
- JWT-based authentication is used for authenticated application access, with server-side verification of protected requests.
- Password hashing with bcrypt helps ensure raw passwords are not stored in readable form.
- Request sanitization is applied to reduce exposure to XSS payloads and Mongo-style query injection attacks.
- Security headers via Helmet are used to harden browser interactions and reduce common client-side risks.
- Production rate limiting on authentication endpoints helps reduce repeated login and credential-stuffing abuse.
- Strict CORS policy controls help ensure API access is limited to approved Succession Wills origins and explicitly allowed environments.
- Input validation is used throughout the data model layer for key fields such as user data and email handling.
- Compressed and structured request handling is paired with centralized middleware and error handling to keep the API behavior consistent and easier to monitor.
Account, session, and identity controls
We use layered identity controls rather than relying on a single credential check. Authenticated routes use JWT verification, account credentials are hashed, and privileged routes are separated from standard user functionality. We also support controlled authentication flows such as magic links and role-based access patterns for different parts of the platform.
Where appropriate, account and session state are maintained server-side to support workflow continuity while still enforcing access checks on protected resources.
Infrastructure and deployment posture
On the infrastructure side, the platform is served over HTTPS and deployed on a dedicated VPS environment rather than a shared consumer website builder or generic form tool. Services are managed as discrete processes, and production changes are deployed intentionally rather than edited directly through a browser interface.
Operationally, we keep sensitive configuration in environment variables, restrict allowed application origins, and separate frontend and backend responsibilities so that critical actions—especially around authentication, document access, and payment status—are not trusted solely to the browser.
Payment and upgrade verification
One of the most important security principles in the platform is that payment-related state is not treated as “successful” merely because a user clicked a button or visited a page. Payment status is verified on the server side against the payment provider before upgrade state is finalized.
That means account status changes, fulfillment triggers, and downstream purchase-related events are tied to confirmed payment verification rather than client-side assumptions. This reduces the risk of false positives, broken conversion logic, and improper access being granted before a payment is actually confirmed.
Data handling and system integrity
Estate-planning data is highly sensitive by nature. Our approach is to minimize casual exposure, keep sensitive configuration out of source code, constrain what origins are allowed to interact with the platform, and validate data as it moves through the application. We also maintain separate backend logic for transactional actions such as document workflows, fulfillment status, and payment recording so those actions are not dependent on frontend state alone.
In addition, our stack is designed to support ongoing operational improvement. Middleware-based security controls, environment-managed secrets, dependency maintenance, and monitored process management all make it easier to update, harden, and improve the system over time.
Continuous improvement
Security is not a box we check once. It is an ongoing process of tightening controls, reviewing workflows, improving instrumentation, and reducing unnecessary risk as the platform evolves. As Succession Wills grows, we continue to invest in stronger deployment practices, better monitoring, and more mature security workflows across the application stack.
If you have questions about our security posture or need additional context for a professional review, please contact us.