SECURITY_SETUP.md

🔒 Security Setup Guide - VedaMD Enhanced

⚠️ CRITICAL: API Key Security

Current Security Issue

Your Groq API key was found in the .env file. This is a security risk if the file was ever committed to version control.

Immediate Actions Required

1. Regenerate Your API Key

🚨 DO THIS FIRST: Your current key may be compromised.

1. Go to Groq Console
2. Delete the existing key: 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
3. Generate a new API key
4. Save it securely (use a password manager)

2. Secure Your Local Development

For Local Development:

1. Copy .env.example to .env:

   cp .env.example .env
   

2. Edit .env and add your NEW API key:

   GROQ_API_KEY=your_new_api_key_here
   

3. Verify .env is in .gitignore (already done ✅)

4. Check if .env was ever committed to git:

   git log --all --full-history -- .env
   

5. If .env appears in git history, clean it:

   # Option 1: Using BFG Repo-Cleaner (recommended)
   # Download from: https://rtyley.github.io/bfg-repo-cleaner/
   java -jar bfg.jar --delete-files .env
   git reflog expire --expire=now --all
   git gc --prune=now --aggressive
   
   # Option 2: Using git-filter-repo
   git filter-repo --path .env --invert-paths
   

3. Configure Hugging Face Spaces

For Production Deployment on HF Spaces:

1. Go to your Hugging Face Space
2. Click Settings tab
3. Navigate to Repository secrets
4. Click Add a secret
5. Add:
   • Name: GROQ_API_KEY
   • Value: Your new API key
6. Save

The app will automatically read from environment variables - no code changes needed!

---

📋 Security Checklist

Before Production Deployment

• Regenerate Groq API key
• Update .env locally with new key
• Add GROQ_API_KEY to HF Spaces secrets
• Verify .env is in .gitignore
• Clean .env from git history if needed
• Test app loads without errors
• Verify API key is NOT in any code files
• Remove old API key from password managers
• Document API key location securely

Additional Security Measures

• Enable rate limiting (see below)
• Configure CORS properly
• Add input validation
• Set up monitoring and alerts
• Review error messages (don't expose internals)
• Implement request logging
• Add usage tracking

---

🛡️ Additional Security Improvements

Rate Limiting

The app currently has no rate limiting. This will be addressed in the next phase.

Recommended: Use Gradio's built-in concurrency limits:

demo.launch(
    max_threads=40,  # Limit concurrent requests
    enable_queue=True  # Queue excess requests
)

CORS Configuration

If using the FastAPI backend, update CORS settings in src/enhanced_backend_api.py:

# BEFORE (INSECURE):
allow_origins=["*"]

# AFTER (SECURE):
allow_origins=[
    "https://your-space-name.hf.space",
    "https://yourdomain.com"
]

Input Validation

Add query validation in app.py:

def validate_query(query: str) -> bool:
    """Validate user query before processing"""
    if len(query) > 1000:  # Max length
        return False
    if not query.strip():  # Empty query
        return False
    # Add more validation as needed
    return True

---

🔍 Monitoring & Auditing

Recommended Tools

• Sentry: Error tracking and monitoring
• Prometheus: Metrics collection
• Grafana: Visualization dashboards
• HF Spaces Analytics: Built-in usage analytics

What to Monitor

• API request counts
• Error rates
• Response times
• API key usage/costs
• Unusual patterns (potential abuse)

---

📞 Support

If you have questions about security setup:

1. Check Hugging Face Spaces documentation
2. Review Groq API security best practices
3. Consult your security team if deploying in a medical environment

---

⚖️ Compliance Notes

For medical applications:

• Ensure HIPAA compliance if handling patient data
• Implement audit logging for all queries
• Add user authentication if required
• Review data retention policies
• Consult legal team for liability considerations

Last Updated: 2025-10-22