Security checklist Pre-deployment security audit organized around the OWASP Top 10:2025 categories (released late 2025, succeeding the 2021 edition). This is the baseline that prevents obvious disasters — not a substitute for a real penetration test or threat model. For verification depth beyond this checklist, see OWASP ASVS 5.0 (https://owasp.org/www-project-application-security-verification-standard/). For API-specific scope, see OWASP API Security Top 10:2023 (https://owasp.org/API-Security/editions/2023/en/0x00-header/). Step 0: Research the current security landscape (do this first) Sec…