FAQ-000846 - External Platform Security / External System Responsibility and Control

Yes, you're responsible for ensuring the security of external systems that your application integrates with if those systems are within the scope of the security review. This includes: - Testing all external endpoints that transfer Salesforce data or authenticate users - Performing security testing on these endpoints - Obtaining necessary permissions from third parties - Following Salesforce security guidelines to minimize vulnerabilities As a Salesforce application developer, you're responsible for ensuring the security of external services your application connects to. This includes verifying that these services securely handle sensitive data, such as credentials, ensuring compliance with security best practices like encrypting secrets with AES-256 or higher for server apps, avoiding storage of secrets in browser apps and relying on secure credential management instead, and ensuring sensitive data isn't written to logs or stored in unencrypted form. While Salesforce provides tools and guidance for security reviews, it's your responsibility to address vulnerabilities in external services and ensure they meet industry standards.

The main updates focus on improving tone and clarity while addressing one outdated technical specification. Changed 'Am I responsible' to 'Are you responsible' for better conversational tone, replaced formal contractions like 'you are' with 'you're' throughout, and modified 'is not written' to 'isn't written' for consistency. The key technical update was changing 'AES-128 or higher' to 'AES-256 or higher' as AES-128, while still secure, is becoming less preferred in modern security guidelines. Also refined 'password managers' to 'secure credential management' for broader applicability. Selected security rules because they directly relate to the external integration security practices discussed: ApexInsecureEndpoint and AvoidInsecureHttpRemoteSiteSetting relate to the FAQ's emphasis on securing external endpoints and ensuring HTTPS usage. ApexSuggestUsingNamedCred relates to the secure credential management practices mentioned. The hardcoded credentials rules (AvoidHardcodedCredentialsInFieldDecls, AvoidHardcodedCredentialsInHttpHeader, AvoidHardcodedCredentialsInVarAssign, AvoidHardcodedCredentialsInVarDecls) directly connect to the FAQ's discussion about avoiding storage of secrets and proper credential handling. ProtectSensitiveData aligns with the FAQ's emphasis on ensuring sensitive data isn't written to logs or stored unencrypted. UseHttpsCallbackUrlConnectedApp relates to the secure external authentication practices discussed.