The Content Security Policy (CSP) Builder is a powerful tool that automates the creation and optimization of CSP policies for your website. This comprehensive guide will walk you through how to use our CSP Builder to create secure, compliant policies without requiring deep technical expertise.
What is the CSP Builder?
The CSP Builder is an intelligent tool that analyzes your website's behavior and violation reports to automatically generate optimized Content Security Policies. It combines security best practices, compliance requirements, and your application's specific needs to create policies that protect your site without breaking functionality.
Why Use the CSP Builder?
The CSP Builder eliminates the complexity of manual CSP creation by automatically analyzing your application's needs, incorporating security best practices, and ensuring compliance with scoring agencies like BitSight and SecurityScorecard.
Prerequisites
Before using the CSP Builder, you need to:
Connect your application to our CSP reporting endpoint
Have violation reports from your current CSP implementation (recommended: 30+ days of data)
Access to your web server configuration for policy deployment
Data Requirements
For optimal results, we recommend having at least 30 days of violation reports. This ensures the builder can accurately understand your application's resource requirements and generate a comprehensive policy.
Step-by-Step Guide to Using the CSP Builder
Step 1: Choose a Policy
The first step is to select an existing policy or create a custom one based on your needs.
Smart Policy Discovery - Our system automatically detects the policies used by your application and generates a new policy based on the existing one.What happens during this step:
Automatic policy detection: The system scans your application to identify current CSP policies
Custom policy support: You can start with a custom policy if you have one
Template selection: Choose from pre-built templates for common use cases
Basic CSP policy template that the builder can start with
// Example: Starting with a basic policy template
Content-Security-Policy:
default-src 'self';script-src'self''report-sample';style-src'self';img-src'self';font-src'self';object-src'none';base-uri'none';form-action'none';frame-ancestors'none';report-uri https://report.centralcsp.com/your-endpoint;
Step 2: Select a Reporting Period
Choose the time range for analyzing violation reports to understand your application's resource requirements.
Strong Automated Report Analysis - Select a time range and watch our system process millions of violation reports to understand what your application needs.Key features of this step:
Time range selection: Choose from 1 days to 90 days of data
Report processing: The system analyzes millions of violation reports
Resource identification: Automatically identifies required domains and sources
Security analysis: Incorporates best practices and security rules
Report Analysis
The builder processes all violation reports to understand which resources your application legitimately needs, ensuring the generated policy won't break your site's functionality.
Step 3: Generate & Review Policy
The system automatically generates a comprehensive CSP policy based on your application's needs.
Intelligent Policy Creation - Our engine automatically generates a comprehensive CSP with all required sources, incorporating security best practices by default.What the builder includes:
Guided Implementation - Use our interactive review wizard to examine every directive, approve domains, and deploy with confidence.Review process features:
Interactive review wizard: Step-by-step guidance through each directive
Risk assessment: Each value is flagged with security implications
Approval workflow: Review and approve each domain/source
Confidence indicators: Visual cues for security risk levels
Review Best Practices
Always review the generated policy carefully. Start with report-only mode to test the policy before enforcing it. This prevents breaking your application while ensuring security.
Step 5: Copy Policy & Implement
Once satisfied with the policy, copy it to your clipboard and implement it in your web server configuration.
Easy Implementation - Once you are happy with the policy, you can deploy it to your application. Simply copy the policy and paste it into your configuration file.
Advanced Features
Compliance & Scoring Agencies
The CSP Builder automatically checks your policy against:
BitSight algorithms: Ensures compatibility with BitSight's scoring methodology
SecurityScorecard requirements: Validates against SecurityScorecard's CSP standards
OWASP guidelines: Incorporates OWASP security best practices
PCI DSS compliance: Meets Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard requirements
Best Practices for CSP Builder Usage
Before Using the Builder
Audit your application: Understand all external resources
Set up reporting: Ensure CSP violation reporting is configured
Document requirements: Note any special security requirements
Test environment: Use a staging environment for initial testing
During Policy Generation
Review each step: Don't skip the review process
Understand recommendations: Read explanations for each directive
Consider security implications: Balance security with functionality
Document changes: Keep track of policy modifications
After Deployment
Monitor closely: Watch for violations and issues
Test thoroughly: Ensure all functionality works correctly
Update regularly: Re-run the builder periodically
Stay informed: Keep up with CSP best practices
Integration with Other Tools
CSP Monitoring
The CSP Builder integrates seamlessly with our monitoring tools:
The CSP Builder transforms the complex task of creating Content Security Policies into a simple, automated process. With intelligent analysis, security best practices, and compliance checking, you can achieve robust web security without the technical complexity.
Ready to Build Your CSP Policy?
Start using the CSP Builder today to create secure, compliant Content Security Policies for your website.
Theotime Quere
CentralCSP Team