Security Practices
Effective: July 24, 2017
We take the security of your data very seriously at Niko. As transparency is one of the principles on which our company is built, we aim to be as clear and open as we can about the way we handle security.
If you have additional questions regarding security, we are happy to answer them. Please write to support@getniko.com and we will respond as quickly as we can.
Confidentiality
We place strict controls over our employees' access to the data you and your users make available via the Niko services, as more specifically defined in your agreement with Niko covering the use of the Niko services ("Customer Data"), and are committed to ensuring that Customer Data is not seen by anyone who should not have access to it. The operation of the Niko services requires that some employees have access to the systems which store and process Customer Data. For example, in order to diagnose a problem you are having with the Niko services, we may need to access your Customer Data. These employees are prohibited from using these permissions to view Customer Data unless it is necessary to do so. We have technical controls and audit policies in place to ensure that any access to Customer Data is logged.
All of our employees and contract personnel are bound to our policies regarding Customer Data and we treat these issues as matters of the highest importance within our company.
Personnel Practices
Niko conducts background checks on all employees before employment, and employees receive security training during onboarding as well as on an ongoing basis. All employees are required to read and sign our information security policy covering the security, availability, and confidentiality of the Niko services.
Compliance
The environment that hosts the Niko services maintains multiple certifications for its data centers, including ISO 27001 compliance, PCI Certification, and SOC reports. For more information about their certification and compliance, please visit the Heroku Security website and the AWS Security website and the AWS Compliance website.
Security Features for Group Members & Administrators
In addition to the work we do at the infrastructure level, we provide Group Administrators of paid versions of the Niko services with additional tools to enable their own users to protect their Customer Data.
Group-Wide Two-Factor Authentication
Group Administrators can require all users to set up two-factor authentication on their accounts by requiring them to use their Google Account for authentication to the Services.
Single Sign On
Administrators of paid groups can integrate their Niko services instance with a variety of single-sign-on providers. Groups on the 'Standard' plan can enable Google Apps for Domains as their authentication provider. We do not have SSO/SAML 2 yet but in the future groups with certain plans will be able to have users authenticate with providers such as OneLogin, Okta, Centrify, and Ping Identity.
Deletion of Customer Data
Niko provides the option for Group Owners to delete Customer Data at any time during a subscription term. Within 48 hours of Group Owner initiated deletion, Niko hard deletes all information from currently-running production systems (excluding group names). Niko Services backups are destroyed within 14 days.
Return of Customer Data
Contact us for information about the export capabilities of the Niko services.
Data Encryption In Transit
The Niko services support the latest recommended secure cipher suites and protocols to encrypt all traffic in transit.
We monitor the changing cryptographic landscape closely and work promptly to upgrade the service to respond to new cryptographic weaknesses as they are discovered and implement best practices as they evolve. For encryption in transit, we do this while also balancing the need for compatibility for older clients.
Availability
We understand that you rely on the Niko services to work. We're committed to making Niko a highly-available service that you can count on. Our infrastructure runs on systems that are fault tolerant, for failures of individual servers or even entire data centers. Our operations team tests disaster-recovery measures regularly and staffs an on-call team to quickly resolve unexpected incidents.
Disaster Recovery
Customer Data is stored redundantly at multiple locations in our hosting provider's data centers to ensure availability. We have well-tested backup and restoration procedures, which allow recovery from a major disaster. Customer Data and our source code are automatically backed up nightly. The Operations team is alerted in case of a failure with this system. Backups are fully tested at least every 90 days to confirm that our processes and tools work as expected.
Network Protection
In addition to sophisticated system monitoring and logging, we have implemented two-factor authentication for all server access across our production environment. Firewalls are configured according to industry best practices.
Host Management
We perform automated vulnerability scans on our production hosts and remediate any findings that present a risk to our environment. We enforce screens lockouts and the usage of full disk encryption for company laptops.
Logging
Niko maintains an extensive, centralized logging environment in its production environment which contains information pertaining to security, monitoring, availability, access, and other metrics about the Niko services. These logs are analyzed for security events via automated monitoring software, overseen by the security team.
Incident Management & Response
In the event of a security breach, Niko will promptly notify you of any unauthorized access to your Customer Data. Niko has incident management policies and procedures in place to handle such an event.
External Security Audits
We will contract with respected external security firms to perform regular audits of the Niko services to verify that our security practices are sound and to monitor the Niko services for new vulnerabilities discovered by the security research community. In addition to periodic and targeted audits of the Niko services and features, we will also employ the use of continuous hybrid automated scanning of our web platform.
Product Security Practices
New features, functionality, and design changes go through a security review process facilitated by the security team. In addition, our code is audited with automated static analysis software, tested, and manually peer-reviewed prior to being deployed to production. The security team works closely with development teams to resolve any additional security concerns that may arise during development.