How To Fortify Your Startup’s Tech Stack

A tech stack, sometimes called a technology stack, is the technology that powers your tech startup. It is the collection of technologies, databases, programming languages, APIs, frameworks, and front-end and back-end tools used by software, application, or website to develop and deploy. 

Given these tools’ sensitivity and crucial nature, startups must focus on fortifying and strengthening their tech stack to succeed in their ventures. 

There are several ways to fortify your startup’s tech stack. Some of them are: 

1. Table of Contents

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   Improve Your User Access Protocols

UAPs or user access protocols refer to the passwords, access codes, protocols, and other procedures that allow authorized users access to a service your startup offers. 

When you improve the access protocols, you protect your data sources from access without explicit authority. Improving user access protocols will reduce the risk of data breaches by enabling you to track who is accessing your tech stack and what they do with it. A secure UAP can also allow you to issue varying access levels to users based on their roles and responsibilities in your startup. 

To fortify your startup’s tech stack, invest in a system that will allow for secure user access protocols, or talk to the best Managed IT services in Orange County for guidance on improving your system.

2. Improve Your Data Encryption Methods

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Data encryption protects your data by encoding it so that only a person with a correct decryption key can decipher it, thus keeping it secure. Improvement in technology has made it easy for data to be intercepted and decrypted before it gets to its destination.  

With hackers becoming increasingly sophisticated when gaining access to systems, you should improve the data encryption process in your tech stack. You should consider encrypting your startup’s data using the latest technology. Some encryption tech available to choose from include: 

• AES: The US government uses the Advanced Encryption Standard to encrypt data. It is efficient in 128-bit but can go as high as 256-bit for demanding processes. While it is almost certainly an overkill for your startup, such encryption is considered invulnerable to all attacks. 
• RSA: Rivest-Shamir-Adleman is the standard for encrypting information shared over the internet. It jumbles the sent information into a series of nonsensical words, numbers, and characters that would take a lot of energy to crack, which serves as a deterrent to would-be hackers. 

There are many other encryption avenues to explore, so depending on your budget and vulnerability, consider the best method to encrypt your startup’s data and protect it from hackers. 

3. Improve Patch Management

Patching is the deployment of updates to your drivers, operating systems, applications, and firmware. Patching is a pivotal way to fortify your startup’s tech stack as apart from security updates, a patch often addresses vulnerabilities in your system and fixes bugs that may have been causing malfunctions. 

Patching improves the performance of your system, in effect improving productivity and lowering the cost of repair and replacement of your devices due to overwork and damage.  

Better patch management practices are suitable for your tech stack. 

4. Conduct Regular Security Audits

Cybercrime is a stark reality in today’s tech world. While you cannot often predict when one will happen, you can always run system audits to determine whether your startup stands prepared for that eventuality.  

Security audits are a way of assessing whether your startup’s security measures are effective in their prevention of threats both internally and externally. Regular security audits help you determine where your system is vulnerable to attacks and where it is doing well. It also informs you whether your security standards comply with the regulatory bodies governing data worldwide. 

To fortify your startup’s tech stack, ensure that the security measures are up to date and effective in stopping the threats likely to face your startup. Also, ensure that your IT security complies with your IT infrastructure to ensure no gaps in its functioning. 

5. Assess Third Party Vendors Before Giving Them Access To Your Tech Stack

Third-party vendors are software service providers whose functionality depends on being integrated into your tech stack. Third-party vendors may include cloud web hosting services, automation platforms, and cloud-based software solutions providers. 

While third-party vendors are relevant to your startup’s well-being, they also have several risks. Some of them could be security risks, dependencies that may overwhelm your system, and a level of support that your tech stack may or may not be able to provide. 

Since the third-party vendors are integrating into your tech stack, you have to ensure that their vetting is thorough so that they will not affect your system’s functionality.

Parting shot: 

Remember that your tech stack will determine practically everything about your company, including the hires you will make, the products you will build, how efficient the building process will be, and such. It is thus paramount to ensure that your tech stack is healthy, secure, and up to date, as your success will depend on it being optimal.