Weekly Security Checklist: 10-Item Guide for Quick Reviews

TL;DR

Consistent weekly security reviews prevent small issues from becoming breaches. This 10-minute checklist covers dependency updates, log review, access audit, and quick security scans. 3 critical items should never be skipped, 4 important items catch most issues, and 3 recommended items provide extra coverage. Schedule it every Monday morning to start the week secure.

Quick Checklist (5 Critical Items)

Run npm audit (or equivalent)Check for known vulnerabilities in your dependencies

Update critical vulnerabilitiesIf high/critical issues found, prioritize fixing them this week

Check authentication failuresLook for spikes in failed logins that might indicate brute force attempts

Run automated security scanUse CheckYourVibe or similar tool for a quick vulnerability check

Check SSL certificate expiryVerify certificates will not expire in the next 30 days

Dependency Updates (~3 min) 3

Run npm audit (or equivalent)Check for known vulnerabilities: npm audit, pip audit, cargo audit, etc. How to run dependency audits

Review Dependabot/Renovate PRsCheck GitHub for automated security update pull requests. How to configure Dependabot

Update critical vulnerabilitiesIf high/critical issues found, prioritize fixing them this week. How to fix npm vulnerabilities

Log Review (~3 min) 3

Check authentication failuresLook for spikes in failed logins that might indicate brute force attempts. How to review access logs

Review 4xx/5xx error ratesUnusual spikes might indicate attacks or security issues. How to analyze error logs

Check for unusual patternsLarge downloads, unusual API usage, or suspicious user agents. How to detect anomalies in logs

Quick Access Audit (~2 min) 2

Review recent team access changesCheck if anyone new was added or removed from repositories/services. How to audit team access

Check for unused API keysReview third-party service dashboards for keys that should be rotated. How to rotate API keys

Quick Scan (~2 min) 2

Run automated security scanUse CheckYourVibe or similar tool for a quick vulnerability check. How to run security scans

Check SSL certificate expiryVerify certificates won't expire in the next 30 days. How to check SSL expiry

Making It a Habit

Security maintenance is most effective when it becomes routine. Block 10-15 minutes every Monday morning for this checklist. Set a calendar reminder if needed. Consistency matters more than depth for weekly reviews.

If you find issues, create tickets or tasks rather than trying to fix everything immediately. The goal of weekly reviews is early detection, not comprehensive remediation.

How often should I check my app's security?

A weekly quick review (10-15 minutes) catches most issues early. Combine this with monthly deeper reviews (like the monthly security checklist) and quarterly penetration testing for production applications handling sensitive data.

What if I find a critical vulnerability?

Stop the weekly review and address it immediately. Critical vulnerabilities in actively exploited packages should be patched within hours. Follow your incident response process if you believe exploitation has occurred.

Can I automate these checks?

Many checks can be automated with CI/CD pipelines, Dependabot, and monitoring tools. However, human review of logs and access patterns catches issues automation misses. Automate what you can, but don't skip the manual review entirely.

TL;DR

Quick Checklist (5 Critical Items)

Dependency Updates (~3 min) 3

Log Review (~3 min) 3

Quick Access Audit (~2 min) 2

Quick Scan (~2 min) 2

Making It a Habit

How often should I check my app's security?

What if I find a critical vulnerability?

Can I automate these checks?

Related Articles

Monthly Security Checklist

Incident Response Checklist

How to Enable Secret Scanning

Automate Your Weekly Scans

Weekly Security Checklist: 10-Item Guide for Quick Reviews