[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":206},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-checklists/monthly-security-checklist":3},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"category":186,"date":187,"dateModified":187,"description":188,"draft":189,"extension":190,"faq":191,"featured":189,"headerVariant":192,"image":191,"keywords":191,"meta":193,"navigation":194,"ogDescription":195,"ogTitle":191,"path":196,"readTime":191,"schemaOrg":197,"schemaType":198,"seo":199,"sitemap":200,"stem":201,"tags":202,"twitterCard":204,"__hash__":205},"blog/blog/checklists/monthly-security-checklist.md","Monthly Security Checklist: 15-Item Guide for Deep Audits",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":180},"minimark",[9,16,19,22,47,66,84,99,116,121,124,127,149,168],[10,11,12],"tldr",{},[13,14,15],"p",{},"Monthly security audits catch issues that weekly checks miss. Spend about an hour reviewing dependencies, access controls, backups, and security configurations. 4 critical items protect against immediate threats, 7 important items maintain security posture, and 4 recommended items provide defense in depth. Schedule it for the first Monday of each month.",[13,17,18],{},"Security drift is real. That access control you set up three months ago probably has a few stale accounts by now, and those dependencies have not been updating themselves. Block out an hour, put on some music, and treat this like a monthly oil change for your app. It is way cheaper than dealing with the mess that builds up when you skip it.",[20,21],"print-button",{},[23,24,26,31,35,39,43],"checklist-section",{"title":25},"Quick Checklist (5 Critical Items)",[27,28],"checklist-item",{"description":29,"label":30},"Check for major version updates that might affect security","Review all package updates",[27,32],{"description":33,"label":34},"Remove unused accounts from GitHub, cloud providers, and services","Review all user accounts",[27,36],{"description":37,"label":38},"Actually restore a backup to verify it works","Test backup restoration",[27,40],{"description":41,"label":42},"Check RLS policies still match your data model","Review database security rules",[27,44],{"description":45,"label":46},"Verify certificates will not expire before next review","Check SSL certificate expiry",[23,48,51,54,58,62],{"title":49,"count":50},"Dependency Deep Dive","4",[27,52],{"description":53,"label":30},"Not just security patches. Check for major version updates that might affect security. How to audit dependencies",[27,55],{"description":56,"label":57},"Identify dependencies not updated in 12+ months. Consider alternatives. How to find abandoned packages","Check for abandoned packages",[27,59],{"description":60,"label":61},"Ensure all packages have appropriate licenses for your use case. How to check license compliance","Review license compliance",[27,63],{"description":64,"label":65},"Run npm ls or equivalent to see what your dependencies depend on. How to audit transitive dependencies","Audit transitive dependencies",[23,67,69,72,76,80],{"title":68,"count":50},"Access Control Audit",[27,70],{"description":71,"label":34},"Check GitHub, cloud providers, and third-party services. Remove unused accounts. How to audit user accounts",[27,73],{"description":74,"label":75},"Check last used dates. Revoke keys not used in 90+ days. How to audit API keys","Audit API key usage",[27,77],{"description":78,"label":79},"Ensure users have minimum necessary permissions. Remove admin access where not needed. How to implement least privilege","Review permission levels",[27,81],{"description":82,"label":83},"Review GitHub/Google OAuth connections. Revoke unused authorizations. How to audit OAuth apps","Check OAuth app authorizations",[23,85,88,91,95],{"title":86,"count":87},"Backup Verification","3",[27,89],{"description":90,"label":38},"Actually restore a backup to verify it works. Document any issues. How to test backup restoration",[27,92],{"description":93,"label":94},"Ensure all critical data and configurations are included in backups. How to verify backup coverage","Verify backup completeness",[27,96],{"description":97,"label":98},"Verify old backups are being deleted per your retention policy. How to configure backup retention","Check backup retention",[23,100,102,106,109,112],{"title":101,"count":50},"Configuration Review",[27,103],{"description":104,"label":105},"Check CSP, HSTS, and other headers are still appropriate. How to configure security headers","Review security headers",[27,107],{"description":108,"label":46},"Verify certificates won't expire before next month's review. How to check SSL expiry",[27,110],{"description":111,"label":42},"Check RLS policies or security rules still match your data model. How to audit RLS policies",[27,113],{"description":114,"label":115},"Look for unused or outdated environment variables across all environments. How to audit environment variables","Audit environment variables",[117,118,120],"h2",{"id":119},"building-a-security-calendar","Building a Security Calendar",[13,122,123],{},"Monthly checks should complement your weekly reviews. While weekly checks focus on immediate issues (new vulnerabilities, failed logins), monthly checks dig deeper into accumulated technical debt and configuration drift.",[13,125,126],{},"Consider adding quarterly penetration testing and annual third-party security audits for production applications handling sensitive data.",[128,129,130,137,143],"faq-section",{},[131,132,134],"faq-item",{"question":133},"How long should a monthly security review take?",[13,135,136],{},"Plan for about an hour. The first few times may take longer as you discover issues. Over time, with consistent weekly maintenance, monthly reviews become faster as there's less accumulated debt to address.",[131,138,140],{"question":139},"What if I find critical issues during monthly review?",[13,141,142],{},"Stop the review and address critical issues immediately. Document what you found and when. After resolving, return to complete the review. Consider why your weekly checks didn't catch the issue.",[131,144,146],{"question":145},"Should I document these reviews?",[13,147,148],{},"Yes, maintain a log of each monthly review. Note what you checked, issues found, and actions taken. This documentation helps with compliance, shows security diligence to investors, and helps identify patterns over time.",[150,151,152,158,163],"related-articles",{},[153,154],"related-card",{"description":155,"href":156,"title":157},"Quick 10-minute weekly security review","/blog/checklists/weekly-security-checklist","Weekly Security Checklist",[153,159],{"description":160,"href":161,"title":162},"Security essentials for early-stage startups","/blog/checklists/startup-security-checklist","Startup Security Checklist",[153,164],{"description":165,"href":166,"title":167},"How to set up reliable database backups","/blog/best-practices/backup","Backup Best Practices",[169,170,173,177],"cta-box",{"href":171,"label":172},"/","Start Free Scan",[117,174,176],{"id":175},"automate-your-monthly-audit","Automate Your Monthly Audit",[13,178,179],{},"Get a comprehensive monthly security report delivered automatically.",{"title":181,"searchDepth":182,"depth":182,"links":183},"",2,[184,185],{"id":119,"depth":182,"text":120},{"id":175,"depth":182,"text":176},"checklists","2026-01-28","Monthly security audit checklist. A deeper security review to complement your weekly checks and catch issues before they become breaches.",false,"md",null,"green",{},true,"Monthly security audit checklist for comprehensive security review.","/blog/checklists/monthly-security-checklist","[object Object]","HowTo",{"title":5,"description":188},{"loc":196},"blog/checklists/monthly-security-checklist",[203],"Security Checklist","summary_large_image","GUzTpFtEcjrtJnW75zcwhUKi6eyyIAQxfB484DNQngs",1775843931482]