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BUSINESS POSTURE

This project, Aspects, is a minimal, open-source Markdown editor for macOS.

  • Business Priorities and Goals:

    • Provide a user-friendly, efficient, and visually appealing Markdown editing experience on macOS.
    • Offer a free and open-source alternative to existing Markdown editors.
    • Potentially build a community around the editor and encourage contributions.
    • Enhance personal branding and portfolio for the developer.

  • Business Risks:

    • Limited monetization potential as an open-source, free application.
    • Risk of low user adoption if the application does not meet user expectations or compete effectively with existing solutions.
    • Risk of security vulnerabilities that could damage user trust and reputation.
    • Risk of project abandonment if developer loses interest or resources.

SECURITY POSTURE

  • Security Controls:

    • security control: Code is hosted on GitHub, providing version control and transparency. (Implemented: GitHub Repository)
    • security control: Open-source nature allows for community review and potential security audits. (Implemented: Open Source)
    • security control: Application is distributed as a macOS application, leveraging macOS security features like sandboxing (Assumed, needs verification). (Implemented: macOS Application Distribution - assumed)

  • Accepted Risks:

    • accepted risk: Reliance on a single developer for maintenance and security updates.
    • accepted risk: Potential vulnerabilities in third-party libraries or frameworks used by the application.
    • accepted risk: Risk of supply chain attacks if dependencies are compromised.

  • Recommended Security Controls:

    • security control: Implement automated security scanning (SAST/DAST) in the development pipeline.
    • security control: Conduct regular security code reviews, especially before releases.
    • security control: Implement a process for reporting and addressing security vulnerabilities.
    • security control: Consider code signing the application to ensure integrity and authenticity.
    • security control: Implement automatic updates mechanism to deliver security patches promptly.

  • Security Requirements:

    • Authentication: Not applicable as a local desktop application. User authentication is handled by the macOS operating system.
    • Authorization: Not applicable as a local desktop application. File system permissions managed by macOS handle authorization.
    • Input Validation:
      • Requirement: Sanitize and validate Markdown input to prevent cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities if rendering HTML previews.
      • Requirement: Validate file paths and operations to prevent path traversal vulnerabilities.
    • Cryptography:
      • Requirement: If storing sensitive data locally (e.g., application settings, potentially encrypted files in the future), use appropriate encryption methods. For this version, likely not applicable.
      • Requirement: Ensure secure communication channels (HTTPS) if the application communicates with external services (e.g., for updates, analytics - if implemented). For this version, likely not applicable.

DESIGN

C4 CONTEXT

flowchart LR
    subgraph "Aspects Markdown Editor"
        A["Aspects Application"]
    end
    U["User"] --> A
    F["File System"] --> A
    A --> F
    style A fill:#f9f,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px
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  • Context Diagram Elements:
      • Name: User
      • Type: Person
      • Description: A user who wants to write and edit Markdown documents on macOS.
      • Responsibilities: Uses Aspects to create, edit, and view Markdown documents. Interacts with the application through the user interface.
      • Security controls: Operating system level user authentication and authorization.
      • Name: Aspects Application
      • Type: Software System
      • Description: A macOS desktop application for creating, editing, and previewing Markdown documents.
      • Responsibilities: Provides a user interface for Markdown editing, renders Markdown to preview, saves and loads Markdown files from the file system.
      • Security controls: Input validation, secure file handling, potentially application sandboxing by macOS.
      • Name: File System
      • Type: External System
      • Description: The local file system on the user's macOS machine where Markdown documents are stored.
      • Responsibilities: Stores and retrieves Markdown files. Manages file permissions and access control.
      • Security controls: Operating system level file permissions and access control.

C4 CONTAINER

flowchart LR
    subgraph "Aspects Markdown Editor"
        subgraph "macOS Application"
            C1["User Interface (Swift/Objective-C)"]
            C2["Markdown Processing Engine (Swift/Objective-C)"]
            C3["File System Interaction (Swift/Objective-C)"]
        end
    end
    U["User"] --> C1
    C1 --> C2
    C1 --> C3
    C2 --> C1
    C3 --> F["File System"]
    F --> C3
    style C1 fill:#f9f9f9,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px
    style C2 fill:#f9f9f9,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px
    style C3 fill:#f9f9f9,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px
    style "macOS Application" fill:#e0e0e0,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px,stroke-dasharray: 5 5
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  • Container Diagram Elements:
      • Name: User Interface
      • Type: Application Container
      • Description: The graphical user interface of the Aspects application, built using macOS UI frameworks (likely Swift or Objective-C).
      • Responsibilities: Handles user input (keyboard, mouse), displays the editor and preview, interacts with the Markdown processing engine and file system interaction components.
      • Security controls: Input validation on user inputs, UI framework security features.
      • Name: Markdown Processing Engine
      • Type: Application Container
      • Description: Component responsible for parsing Markdown syntax and rendering it into a preview (likely HTML or styled text). Implemented in Swift or Objective-C.
      • Responsibilities: Parses Markdown text, generates preview output, potentially handles syntax highlighting.
      • Security controls: Input validation and sanitization of Markdown input to prevent XSS or other injection vulnerabilities, secure handling of external resources if any (unlikely in this simple editor).
      • Name: File System Interaction
      • Type: Application Container
      • Description: Component responsible for reading and writing Markdown files to the local file system. Implemented in Swift or Objective-C.
      • Responsibilities: Handles file open, save, and save as operations, interacts with the macOS file system APIs.
      • Security controls: File path validation to prevent path traversal, secure file handling practices, adherence to macOS file system permissions.

DEPLOYMENT

Deployment is straightforward for a macOS desktop application.

  • Deployment Architecture: Standalone macOS Application
flowchart LR
    subgraph "User's macOS Machine"
        subgraph "macOS Operating System"
            D1["Aspects Application Instance"]
        end
    end
    D1 --> OS["macOS OS"]
    OS --> HW["macOS Hardware"]
    style "macOS Operating System" fill:#e0e0e0,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px,stroke-dasharray: 5 5
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  • Deployment Diagram Elements:
      • Name: Aspects Application Instance
      • Type: Software Deployment Unit
      • Description: A single instance of the Aspects application running on a user's macOS machine.
      • Responsibilities: Provides Markdown editing functionality to the user.
      • Security controls: Application sandboxing by macOS, code signing (recommended), automatic updates (recommended).
      • Name: macOS Operating System
      • Type: Operating System
      • Description: The macOS operating system on the user's machine.
      • Responsibilities: Provides the runtime environment for the Aspects application, manages system resources, enforces security policies.
      • Security controls: Operating system level security controls, user authentication, process isolation, file system permissions, application sandboxing.
      • Name: macOS Hardware
      • Type: Hardware
      • Description: The physical macOS machine (MacBook, iMac, etc.) where the application is deployed.
      • Responsibilities: Provides the physical infrastructure for running the operating system and application.
      • Security controls: Hardware security features (e.g., Secure Enclave on some Macs), physical security of the device.

BUILD

flowchart LR
    subgraph "Developer Workstation"
        DEV["Developer"] --> CODE["Code Changes"]
        CODE --> VCS[/"Version Control System (GitHub)"/]
    end
    VCS --> BUILD_TRIGGER["Build Trigger (e.g., GitHub Actions)"]
    subgraph "CI/CD Pipeline (GitHub Actions - assumed)"
        BUILD_TRIGGER --> BUILD_ENV["Build Environment (macOS)"]
        BUILD_ENV --> COMPILE["Compile & Build Application"]
        COMPILE --> TESTS["Run Automated Tests"]
        TESTS --> SAST["Static Analysis Security Testing (SAST) - Recommended"]
        SAST --> CODE_SIGN[/"Code Signing (Recommended)"/]
        CODE_SIGN --> ARTIFACTS["Build Artifacts (macOS App)"]
    end
    ARTIFACTS --> DISTRO[/"Distribution (e.g., GitHub Releases, Direct Download)"/]
    style VCS fill:#f9f9f9,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px
    style BUILD_ENV fill:#f9f9f9,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px
    style COMPILE fill:#f9f9f9,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px
    style TESTS fill:#f9f9f9,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px
    style SAST fill:#f9f9f9,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px
    style CODE_SIGN fill:#f9f9f9,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px
    style ARTIFACTS fill:#f9f9f9,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px
    style DISTRO fill:#f9f9f9,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px
    style "CI/CD Pipeline (GitHub Actions - assumed)" fill:#e0e0e0,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px,stroke-dasharray: 5 5
    style "Developer Workstation" fill:#e0e0e0,stroke:#333,stroke-width:2px,stroke-dasharray: 5 5
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  • Build Process Elements:
      • Name: Developer
      • Type: Person
      • Description: Software developer working on the Aspects project.
      • Responsibilities: Writes code, commits changes to version control.
      • Security controls: Secure development practices, code review.
      • Name: Code Changes
      • Type: Data
      • Description: Source code modifications made by the developer.
      • Responsibilities: Represents the codebase of the Aspects application.
      • Security controls: Version control system (GitHub) for tracking changes and history.
      • Name: Version Control System (GitHub)
      • Type: Software Service
      • Description: GitHub repository hosting the Aspects source code.
      • Responsibilities: Stores and manages the codebase, tracks changes, facilitates collaboration.
      • Security controls: Access control, authentication, audit logs provided by GitHub.
      • Name: Build Trigger (e.g., GitHub Actions)
      • Type: Automation
      • Description: Automated trigger that initiates the build process upon code changes (e.g., push to repository).
      • Responsibilities: Automatically starts the CI/CD pipeline.
      • Security controls: Access control to CI/CD configuration, secure configuration of build triggers.
      • Name: Build Environment (macOS)
      • Type: Infrastructure
      • Description: macOS environment used to compile and build the application.
      • Responsibilities: Provides the necessary tools and libraries for building the macOS application.
      • Security controls: Secure build environment, access control, regular patching.
      • Name: Compile & Build Application
      • Type: Build Step
      • Description: Step where the source code is compiled and the macOS application bundle is created.
      • Responsibilities: Transforms source code into an executable application.
      • Security controls: Use of trusted compilers and build tools.
      • Name: Run Automated Tests
      • Type: Build Step
      • Description: Step where automated tests (unit, integration, UI tests) are executed.
      • Responsibilities: Verifies the functionality and stability of the application.
      • Security controls: Comprehensive test suite to catch potential bugs and vulnerabilities.
      • Name: Static Analysis Security Testing (SAST) - Recommended
      • Type: Security Tool
      • Description: Recommended step to perform static code analysis to identify potential security vulnerabilities in the source code.
      • Responsibilities: Scans code for security flaws.
      • Security controls: SAST tool configuration and integration into the build pipeline.
      • Name: Code Signing (Recommended)
      • Type: Security Process
      • Description: Recommended step to sign the application with a developer certificate to ensure code integrity and authenticity.
      • Responsibilities: Digitally signs the application.
      • Security controls: Secure key management for code signing certificates.
      • Name: Build Artifacts (macOS App)
      • Type: Data
      • Description: The compiled macOS application bundle ready for distribution.
      • Responsibilities: Represents the distributable application.
      • Security controls: Storage in secure artifact repository (if applicable), integrity checks.
      • Name: Distribution (e.g., GitHub Releases, Direct Download)
      • Type: Distribution Channel
      • Description: Method used to distribute the application to users (e.g., GitHub Releases, direct download from a website).
      • Responsibilities: Makes the application available to users.
      • Security controls: Secure distribution channels (HTTPS), integrity checks (e.g., checksums) for downloaded artifacts.

RISK ASSESSMENT

  • Critical Business Processes:

    • For a free, open-source personal project, there are no critical business processes in the traditional sense. However, maintaining user trust and positive reputation is important for the developer's goals.

  • Data to Protect and Sensitivity:

    • User data: Markdown documents created and edited by users.
      • Sensitivity: Potentially sensitive, depending on the content of the documents. Users expect confidentiality and integrity of their local files.
    • Application settings: User preferences and application configuration.
      • Sensitivity: Low to medium, depending on what settings are stored.
    • Source code: The source code of the Aspects application.
      • Sensitivity: Medium, protecting intellectual property and preventing unauthorized modifications.

QUESTIONS & ASSUMPTIONS

  • Questions:

    • Is application sandboxing enabled for Aspects?
    • Is code signing currently implemented for Aspects releases?
    • Are there any plans for future features that might introduce network communication or data storage beyond local files?
    • What is the intended distribution method for the application?

  • Assumptions:

    • BUSINESS POSTURE: The primary goal is to provide a useful and well-regarded open-source Markdown editor, rather than direct monetization.
    • SECURITY POSTURE: Current security controls are basic, relying on macOS platform security. There is room for improvement in secure development practices and build pipeline security.
    • DESIGN: The application is a standalone macOS desktop application with no server-side components or external dependencies beyond standard macOS libraries. The application primarily interacts with the local file system.