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16. Live Project: Building a Reels App with EC2, S3 and RDS

16.11 Domain and HTTPS

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Part 6 pramane subdomain aani Certbot.

  1. GoDaddy (or Route 53) → add an A record: Name reels → your Elastic IP. Check with dig reels.yourdomain.com +short.
  2. Get the certificate and redirect HTTP to HTTPS:
sudo yum install -y certbot python3-certbot-nginx        # Ubuntu: sudo apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-nginx
sudo certbot --nginx -d reels.yourdomain.com --redirect
sudo certbot renew --dry-run
  1. Set 'cookie_secure' => true in config.php, then sudo service php-fpm restart.
  2. Add HSTS inside the new listen 443 server block Certbot created, test and reload:
add_header Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000" always;

sudo nginx -t && sudo service nginx reload
curl -I http://reels.yourdomain.com       # 301 → https
curl -sI https://reels.yourdomain.com/login.php | grep -Ei 'strict|content-security|x-frame'

add_header inheritance in Nginx

If a location block has its own add_header, Nginx drops the server-level headers for that location. Keep all security headers at server level (as in reels.conf) and check them with curl -sI after every change.

Ravindra Bagale's Tip

After adding HTTPS, login "doesn't work" – the page reloads and you're back on the login page. The reason: cookie_secure is true but you're still on http://, or the other way round. Always use the HTTPS URL, and check with curl -I that the redirect is working.

Lab

Point reels.yourdomain.com to your Elastic IP, run Certbot with --redirect, switch cookie_secure to true, add HSTS, and confirm the headers with curl -sI.

Extended teaching notes

Why this lesson matters

Use this lesson to strengthen systems you own: understand the risk, practise safely in a lab, then write and apply the fix.

Apply the fix across stacks

Same class of bug, same idea in every language.

Java / Spring Boot

Parameterise queries, encode output, CSRF tokens, limited Actuator, dependency scanning.

ASP.NET Core

EF Core / parameterised SQL, Razor encoding, HTTPS, Data Protection.

Node.js / Express

helmet, parameterised SQL, npm audit, avoid eval and shell concat.

Python / Django / Flask / FastAPI

ORM, autoescape, pip-audit, Bandit; never shell=True with user input.

PHP / Laravel

PDO/Eloquent, Blade escaping, composer audit.

Go / Ruby

database/sql placeholders / ActiveRecord; html/template / ERB escaping; govulncheck / Brakeman.

nginx / Apache / Tomcat

Hide versions, TLS, security headers, least-open ports.

MySQL / PostgreSQL / MongoDB / Redis

Private networks, auth on, least-privilege users, no 0.0.0.0/0.

AWS / Azure / GCP

Roles not long-lived keys, private data stores, cloud audit logs on.

Mini case study

Suppose we are on a purple-team exercise for an Indian mid-size company (sample data). Red notes a technique from this lesson against a lab clone. Blue must show the control that stops it, the log that would have fired, and the ticket that hardens production. That is the standard this course trains you for.

Defender's worksheet (do this today)

  1. Write the lesson title, date and the exact lab target you are allowed to use.
  2. List three owned systems (VMs, apps, or cloud accounts) where this lesson applies.
  3. Run one safe check from the lesson on a lab system only. Paste the command and output.
  4. Write a two-sentence fix you would give a teammate.
  5. Name one related public advisory (CERT-In, CISA, NVD, or a vendor bulletin) with its date.

Indian workplace (sample data)

Suppose we are a junior analyst at Infosys, TCS, Wipro or a fintech SOC in Bengaluru/Pune. Turn this lesson into one checklist item with an owner, a due date and a place to store evidence (ticket + screenshot).

Global practice

Compare your notes with OWASP, CIS Benchmarks, NIST CSF/IR guidance or a cloud Well-Architected security question. Write five lines on what overlaps.

Everyday analogy

Explain the risk and the fix to a family member without jargon. If they can repeat the warning, you understand it well enough to teach juniors.

Key terms

  • Control: a safeguard (patch, config, process, detection).
  • Finding: a weakness backed by evidence.
  • Remediation: the fix plus how you verified it.
  • Scope: systems you have written permission to touch.
  • Least privilege: only the access the task needs.
  • Defence in depth: several layers so one failure does not end the story.

Common mistakes

  • Skipping written permission "just for a quick scan".
  • Practising on hostel, office or public targets without authorisation.
  • Collecting tool output without writing the fix.
  • Copying attack steps onto production to "verify". Defenders verify with versions, configs and patches.
  • Publishing screenshots that contain secrets, cookies or internal hostnames.

Recap

  • Evidence, fix, owner, date.
  • Own lab only.
  • Fix > spectacle.