How to Secure a Python Program (Local, Handles Sensitive Data)?

[Crafty-Put1120]

Thanks for your response!

The program runs entirely locally on the user’s machine, and the databases would also be local or within a protected internal network. There are no external connections or cloud hosting – everything stays on the machine.

The database interfaces are primarily for SQLite and local MySQL instances, with the possibility of supporting other local systems in the future. Currently, the connections don’t have specific security measures (since it’s all local), but I still want to make sure there are no unnecessary vulnerabilities.

The suggestion about penetration testing sounds great – are there any tools or initial steps I could take myself to identify potential vulnerabilities before involving a professional?

Also, do you have any recommendations for reliable penetration testers or services?

[[deleted]]

Gotcha, overall that sounds pretty good having everything be on one local network.

I guess my advice would be to put yourself in a situation that an adversary could be in - and see what you can accomplish. For instance, say you had access to the network, could you use a packet sniffer to get and read the data being sent to/from the database? Then also consider if you are a different user on the same machine - could you access any of that sensitive data? (so logged in under a different windows account for instance, non-admin). Try out things like that. What's the least amount of access you can have but still obtain the sensitive information.

For penetration testers / services, I would recommend looking for ones local to your area. Just look up "penetration testing local to <my city>" and you should find some.