# Ensure production environments are protected

- Source: https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/articles/a_179387666210033-ensure-production-environments-are-protected
- Section: [Solutions](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions) › [Render Cloud](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/c_1793875953948152) › [Checks](https://support.icompaas.com/support/solutions/folders/f_1793875960840493)
- Last updated: 2026-11-05
- Publisher: iCompaas, Inc. (https://www.icompaas.com)

**Description**

Ensure each production environment in a Render project is marked as Protected. In a protected environment, only Admins can delete or create resources, move resources in or out, view or change environment variables and secret files, view database credentials, change database access IPs, and open service shells.

**Rationale**

Without protection, any Developer can delete production databases, read production secrets, or open a shell on a production service, either by mistake or with a compromised account. Protecting the environment limits these destructive and sensitive actions to a small group of Admins.

**Impact**

-   Only Admins can delete production resources or view secrets
    
-   Reduces accidental or malicious changes to production
    
-   Developers may need an Admin for some production tasks
    

**Default Value**

By default, environments are not protected.

**Pre-Requisites**

-   Workspace Admin role
    
-   Production resources organized into a project environment
    

**Remediation**

**Test Plan**

1.  Sign in to the Render Dashboard at [https://dashboard.render.com](https://dashboard.render.com/).
    
2.  From your workspace home, open the project and scroll to the production environment.
    
3.  Check whether the environment shows the Protected label and lock icon.
    
4.  If it is not protected, follow the implementation steps.
    

**Implementation Steps**

1.  Sign in to the Render Dashboard at [https://dashboard.render.com](https://dashboard.render.com/).
    
2.  From your workspace home, open the project and scroll to the production environment.
    
3.  Click the ••• menu at the top right of the environment, then click All settings.
    
4.  Scroll down to the Permissions section and click Edit.
    
5.  Select Protected and click Save.
    
6.  Confirm that the environment now shows the Protected label and lock icon.
    

**Backout Plan**

1.  Sign in to the Render Dashboard at [https://dashboard.render.com](https://dashboard.render.com/).
    
2.  From your workspace home, open the project and scroll to the production environment.
    
3.  Click the ••• menu at the top right of the environment, then click All settings.
    
4.  In the Permissions section, click Edit, select the unprotected option, and click Save.
    

**Reference**

-   [https://render.com/docs/projects](https://render.com/docs/projects)

## Related compliance guidance

- [SOC 2 compliance: a practical implementation guide for cloud-native SaaS teams](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/soc-2-trust-services-criteria): Configuration checks like this one are the technical half of a SOC 2 / ISO 27001 programme — the guide shows where they fit, what else an auditor expects, and how to evidence them.
- [ISO/IEC 27001:2022 compliance: a practical implementation guide](https://support.icompaas.com/compliance/iso-27001-2022): ISO 27001 Annex A.8 (technological controls) is where cloud hardening evidence lands; the guide shows how to run the ISMS around it.