diff --git a/api-server b/api-server
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..2a285e2
Binary files /dev/null and b/api-server differ
diff --git a/cmd/api-server/main.go b/cmd/api-server/main.go
index ff141ba..d4dd44d 100644
--- a/cmd/api-server/main.go
+++ b/cmd/api-server/main.go
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ func main() {
 	apiKey := flag.String("api-key", "", "API key for authentication")
 	showVersion := flag.Bool("version", false, "Show version and build info")
 	verifyBuild := flag.Bool("verify", false, "Verify build integrity")
+	securityAudit := flag.Bool("security-audit", false, "Run security audit and exit")
 	flag.Parse()
 
 	// Handle version display
@@ -38,6 +39,12 @@ func main() {
 		os.Exit(0)
 	}
 
+	// Handle security audit
+	if *securityAudit {
+		runSecurityAudit(*configFile)
+		os.Exit(0)
+	}
+
 	// Create and start server
 	server, err := api.NewServer(*configFile)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -54,3 +61,75 @@ func main() {
 	// Reserved for future authentication enhancements
 	_ = apiKey
 }
+
+// runSecurityAudit performs security checks and reports issues
+func runSecurityAudit(configFile string) {
+	fmt.Println("=== Security Audit ===")
+	issues := []string{}
+	warnings := []string{}
+
+	// Check 1: Config file permissions
+	if info, err := os.Stat(configFile); err == nil {
+		mode := info.Mode().Perm()
+		if mode&0077 != 0 {
+			issues = append(issues, fmt.Sprintf("Config file %s is world/group readable (permissions: %04o)", configFile, mode))
+		} else {
+			fmt.Printf("✓ Config file permissions: %04o (secure)\n", mode)
+		}
+	} else {
+		warnings = append(warnings, fmt.Sprintf("Could not check config file: %v", err))
+	}
+
+	// Check 2: Environment variable exposure
+	sensitiveVars := []string{"JWT_SECRET", "FETCH_ML_API_KEY", "DATABASE_PASSWORD", "REDIS_PASSWORD"}
+	exposedVars := []string{}
+	for _, v := range sensitiveVars {
+		if os.Getenv(v) != "" {
+			exposedVars = append(exposedVars, v)
+		}
+	}
+	if len(exposedVars) > 0 {
+		warnings = append(warnings, fmt.Sprintf("Sensitive environment variables exposed: %v (will be cleared on startup)", exposedVars))
+	} else {
+		fmt.Println("✓ No sensitive environment variables exposed")
+	}
+
+	// Check 3: Running as root
+	if os.Getuid() == 0 {
+		issues = append(issues, "Running as root (UID 0) - should run as non-root user")
+	} else {
+		fmt.Printf("✓ Running as non-root user (UID: %d)\n", os.Getuid())
+	}
+
+	// Check 4: API key file permissions
+	apiKeyFile := os.Getenv("FETCH_ML_API_KEY_FILE")
+	if apiKeyFile != "" {
+		if info, err := os.Stat(apiKeyFile); err == nil {
+			mode := info.Mode().Perm()
+			if mode&0077 != 0 {
+				issues = append(issues, fmt.Sprintf("API key file %s is world/group readable (permissions: %04o)", apiKeyFile, mode))
+			} else {
+				fmt.Printf("✓ API key file permissions: %04o (secure)\n", mode)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	// Report results
+	fmt.Println()
+	if len(issues) == 0 && len(warnings) == 0 {
+		fmt.Println("✓ All security checks passed")
+	} else {
+		if len(issues) > 0 {
+			fmt.Printf("✗ Found %d security issue(s):\n", len(issues))
+			for _, issue := range issues {
+				fmt.Printf("  - %s\n", issue)
+			}
+		}
+		if len(warnings) > 0 {
+			fmt.Printf("⚠ Found %d warning(s):\n", len(warnings))
+			for _, warning := range warnings {
+				fmt.Printf("  - %s\n", warning)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/internal/api/factory.go b/internal/api/factory.go
index e4e22d7..ad85ef7 100644
--- a/internal/api/factory.go
+++ b/internal/api/factory.go
@@ -147,6 +147,11 @@ func (s *Server) initDatabase() error {
 	s.db = db
 	s.logger.Info("database initialized", "type", s.config.Database.Type)
 
+	// Clear database password from memory after connection
+	if s.config.Database.Password != "" {
+		s.config.Database.Password = "[CLEARED]"
+	}
+
 	// Add cleanup function
 	s.cleanupFuncs = append(s.cleanupFuncs, func() {
 		s.logger.Info("closing database connection...")
@@ -183,7 +188,11 @@ func (s *Server) initDatabaseSchema() error {
 func (s *Server) initSecurity() {
 	authConfig := s.config.BuildAuthConfig()
 	rlOpts := s.buildRateLimitOptions()
-	s.sec = middleware.NewSecurityMiddleware(authConfig, os.Getenv("JWT_SECRET"), rlOpts)
+
+	// Read JWT secret securely and clear from environment
+	jwtSecret := SecureEnvVar("JWT_SECRET")
+
+	s.sec = middleware.NewSecurityMiddleware(authConfig, jwtSecret, rlOpts)
 }
 
 // buildRateLimitOptions builds rate limit options from configuration
@@ -254,3 +263,13 @@ func getSecurityConfig(cfg *ServerConfig) *config.SecurityConfig {
 		IPWhitelist: cfg.Security.IPWhitelist,
 	}
 }
+
+// SecureEnvVar reads an environment variable and clears it from the environment
+// to prevent exposure via /proc/*/environ. Returns empty string if not set.
+func SecureEnvVar(name string) string {
+	value := os.Getenv(name)
+	if value != "" {
+		os.Unsetenv(name)
+	}
+	return value
+}
diff --git a/internal/auth/flags.go b/internal/auth/flags.go
index 08212bb..277906c 100644
--- a/internal/auth/flags.go
+++ b/internal/auth/flags.go
@@ -41,6 +41,8 @@ func ParseAuthFlags() *Flags {
 func GetAPIKeyFromSources(flags *Flags) string {
 	// 1. Command line flag (highest priority)
 	if flags.APIKey != "" {
+		// Warn about process list exposure
+		log.Println("WARNING: --api-key exposes credential in process list. Use --api-key-file for better security.")
 		return flags.APIKey
 	}
 
diff --git a/internal/logging/sanitize.go b/internal/logging/sanitize.go
index 7ce7c95..77ed666 100644
--- a/internal/logging/sanitize.go
+++ b/internal/logging/sanitize.go
@@ -21,6 +21,18 @@ var (
 
 	// Redis URLs with passwords
 	redisPasswordPattern = regexp.MustCompile(`redis://:[^@]+@`)
+
+	// Database connection strings - PostgreSQL
+	postgresPasswordPattern = regexp.MustCompile(`(postgresql?://[^:]+:)[^@]+(@)`)
+
+	// Generic connection strings with passwords
+	connStringPasswordPattern = regexp.MustCompile(`(password[=:])[^\s&;]+`)
+
+	// HTTP Authorization headers
+	authHeaderPattern = regexp.MustCompile(`(Authorization:\s*(?:Bearer|Basic)\s+)[^\s]+`)
+
+	// Private keys
+	privateKeyPattern = regexp.MustCompile(`(-----BEGIN (?:RSA|EC|DSA|OPENSSH) PRIVATE KEY-----)[\s\S]*?(-----END (?:RSA|EC|DSA|OPENSSH) PRIVATE KEY-----)`)
 )
 
 // SanitizeLogMessage removes sensitive data from log messages
@@ -43,6 +55,18 @@ func SanitizeLogMessage(message string) string {
 	// Redact Redis passwords from URLs
 	message = redisPasswordPattern.ReplaceAllString(message, "redis://:[REDACTED]@")
 
+	// Redact PostgreSQL connection strings
+	message = postgresPasswordPattern.ReplaceAllString(message, "${1}[REDACTED]${2}")
+
+	// Redact generic connection string passwords
+	message = connStringPasswordPattern.ReplaceAllString(message, "${1}[REDACTED]")
+
+	// Redact HTTP Authorization headers
+	message = authHeaderPattern.ReplaceAllString(message, "${1}[REDACTED]")
+
+	// Redact private keys
+	message = privateKeyPattern.ReplaceAllString(message, "[REDACTED-PRIVATE-KEY]")
+
 	return message
 }
 
diff --git a/internal/storage/db_connect.go b/internal/storage/db_connect.go
index df5b3bd..4274f31 100644
--- a/internal/storage/db_connect.go
+++ b/internal/storage/db_connect.go
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import (
 	"context"
 	"database/sql"
 	"fmt"
+	"regexp"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
@@ -12,6 +13,23 @@ import (
 	_ "github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3" // SQLite driver
 )
 
+// SanitizeConnectionString removes passwords from connection strings for safe logging
+func SanitizeConnectionString(connStr string) string {
+	if connStr == "" {
+		return ""
+	}
+
+	// Pattern for postgresql://user:pass@host format
+	postgresPattern := regexp.MustCompile(`(postgresql?://[^:]+:)[^@]+(@)`)
+	sanitized := postgresPattern.ReplaceAllString(connStr, "${1}[REDACTED]${2}")
+
+	// Pattern for password=xxxxx in connection string
+	passwordPattern := regexp.MustCompile(`(password=)[^\s]*`)
+	sanitized = passwordPattern.ReplaceAllString(sanitized, "${1}[REDACTED]")
+
+	return sanitized
+}
+
 // DBConfig holds database connection configuration.
 type DBConfig struct {
 	Type       string