Security and Privacy
at Neostella
Security is a key part of Neostella—from our internal operations to the products we build, our goal is to help provide services that our customers can rely on to keep information safe.
Governance
Neostella’s Security and Privacy teams establish policies and controls, monitor compliance with those controls, and prove our security and compliance to third-party auditors.
Our policies are based on the following foundational principles:
- Access should be limited to only those with a legitimate business need and granted based on the principle of least privilege.
- Security controls should be implemented and layered according to the principle of defense-in-depth.
- Security controls should be applied consistently across all areas of the enterprise.
- The implementation of controls should be iterative, continuously maturing across the dimensions of improved effectiveness, increased auditability, and decreased friction.
Data protection
Data At Rest
All datastores with customer data, in addition to S3 buckets, are encrypted at rest.
This means the data is encrypted even before it hits the database so that neither physical access, nor logical access to the database, is enough to read the most sensitive information.
Data In Transit
Neostella uses TLS 1.2 or higher everywhere data is transmitted over potentially insecure networks. Server TLS keys and certificates are managed by AWS.
Secret Management
Encryption keys are managed via AWS Key Management System (KMS). KMS stores key material in Hardware Security Modules (HSMs), which prevents direct access by any individuals, including employees of Amazon and Neostella. The keys stored in HSMs are used for encryption and decryption via Amazon’s KMS APIs.
Application secrets are encrypted and stored securely via AWS Secrets Manager and access to these values is strictly limited.
Product security
Penetration Testing
Neostella engages with penetration testing consulting firms annually to help verify the security and design of our products.
Vulnerability Scanning
Neostella requires vulnerability scanning at key stages of our Secure Development Lifecycle (SDLC):
Static analysis (SAST) testing of code during pull requests and on an ongoing basis
Software composition analysis (SCA) to identify known vulnerabilities in our software supply chain
Malicious dependency scanning to prevent the introduction of malware into our software supply chain
Network vulnerability scanning on a periodic basis
Audit Logging
Neostella logs activities within our applications and the infrastructure that supports them. Logs are retained for at least 90 days and audited periodically.
Reliability
Monitoring
Neostella monitors our services 24/7 and provides alerting and visibility into live and historic availability
Change Management
Neostella enforces change management is enforced at our development, infrastructure, and enterprise layers to help make sure changes are documented, appropriate, and approved.
Business Continuity
Neostella maintains backups of all critical data to help ensure that in an emergency, systems can be recovered in a timely manner. Disaster recovery and business continuity plans are updated and tested annually.
Enterprise security
Endpoint Protection
All corporate devices are centrally managed and are equipped with anti-malware and EDR protection. Our device managmenet software enforces secure configuration of endpoints, such as disk encryption, screen lock configuration, and software updates.
Vendor Security
Neostella uses a risk-based approach to vendor security. Factors which influence the inherent risk rating of a vendor include:
Access to customer and corporate data
Integration with production environments
Potential damage to the Neostella brand
Once the inherent risk rating has been determined, the security of the vendor is evaluated in order to determine a residual risk rating and an approval decision for the vendor.
Secure Remote Access
Neostella secures remote access to internal resources using a VPN requiring MFA to connect. We also use malware-blocking DNS servers to protect employees and their endpoints while browsing the internet.
Security Education
Neostella provides security awareness training to all employees upon onboarding. Additionally, periodic security training refreshers and updates, targeted trainings, and periodic phishing tests to help identify potential areas for improvement and additional training.
Neostella’s security team shares information with employees to inform them of important security and safety-related updates that require special attention or action.
Identity and Access Management
Neostella uses a Single-Sign-On provider to secure our identity and access management. We require MFA for access to sensitive information.
Neostella employees are granted access to applications based on their role, and automatically deprovisioned upon termination of their employment. Further access must be approved according to the policies set for each application. Access to systems and information are audited periodically to help ensure appropriate permissions are maintained.