diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 1bb14a5b4..a1d363ae8 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ include("cmake/pgm_version.cmake")
 project(power_grid_model VERSION ${PGM_VERSION})
 
 option(PGM_ENABLE_DEV_BUILD "Enable developer build (e.g.: tests)" OFF)
+option(PGM_ENABLE_HARDENING "Enable compile and link time hardening options" ON)
 
 set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 23)
 set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD_REQUIRED ON)
diff --git a/CMakePresets.json b/CMakePresets.json
index 577b6d497..ee2a77d09 100644
--- a/CMakePresets.json
+++ b/CMakePresets.json
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@
     {
       "name": "unix-sanitizer",
       "environment": {
-        "SANITIZER_FLAGS": "-fsanitize=address"
+        "SANITIZER_FLAGS": "-fstack-protector -fsanitize=address,pointer-compare,undefined -fno-sanitize-recover"
       },
       "inherits": "unix-base",
       "hidden": true
@@ -140,6 +140,9 @@
     {
       "name": "msvc-debug",
       "displayName": "Debug (MSVC)",
+      "environment": {
+        "SANITIZER_FLAGS": "/RTC1"
+      },
       "inherits": [
         "msvc-base",
         "debug"
diff --git a/power_grid_model_c/power_grid_model/include/power_grid_model/auxiliary/dataset.hpp b/power_grid_model_c/power_grid_model/include/power_grid_model/auxiliary/dataset.hpp
index b759f40bc..1257d0d44 100644
--- a/power_grid_model_c/power_grid_model/include/power_grid_model/auxiliary/dataset.hpp
+++ b/power_grid_model_c/power_grid_model/include/power_grid_model/auxiliary/dataset.hpp
@@ -83,10 +83,15 @@ class ColumnarAttributeRange : public std::ranges::view_interface<ColumnarAttrib
                 auto const& meta_attribute = *attribute_buffer.meta_attribute;
                 ctype_func_selector(
                     meta_attribute.ctype, [&value, &attribute_buffer, &meta_attribute, this]<typename AttributeType> {
-                        AttributeType* buffer_ptr = reinterpret_cast<AttributeType*>(attribute_buffer.data) + idx_;
-                        auto const& attribute_ref = meta_attribute.template get_attribute<AttributeType const>(
-                            reinterpret_cast<RawDataConstPtr>(&value));
-                        *buffer_ptr = attribute_ref;
+                        if constexpr (sizeof(AttributeType) <= sizeof(value_type)) {
+                            AttributeType* buffer_ptr = reinterpret_cast<AttributeType*>(attribute_buffer.data) + idx_;
+                            auto const& attribute_ref = meta_attribute.template get_attribute<AttributeType const>(
+                                reinterpret_cast<RawDataConstPtr>(&value));
+                            *buffer_ptr = attribute_ref;
+                        } else {
+                            throw UnreachableHit{"ColumnarAttributeRange::operator=",
+                                                 "AttributeType larger than value_type!"};
+                        }
                     });
             }
             return *this;
@@ -97,14 +102,18 @@ class ColumnarAttributeRange : public std::ranges::view_interface<ColumnarAttrib
             for (auto const& attribute_buffer : attribute_buffers_) {
                 assert(attribute_buffer.meta_attribute != nullptr);
                 auto const& meta_attribute = *attribute_buffer.meta_attribute;
-                ctype_func_selector(
-                    meta_attribute.ctype, [&result, &attribute_buffer, &meta_attribute, this]<typename AttributeType> {
+                ctype_func_selector(meta_attribute.ctype, [&result, &attribute_buffer, &meta_attribute,
+                                                           idx = idx_]<typename AttributeType> {
+                    if constexpr (sizeof(AttributeType) <= sizeof(value_type)) {
                         AttributeType const* buffer_ptr =
-                            reinterpret_cast<AttributeType const*>(attribute_buffer.data) + idx_;
-                        auto& attribute_ref =
+                            reinterpret_cast<AttributeType const*>(attribute_buffer.data) + idx;
+                        AttributeType& attribute_ref =
                             meta_attribute.template get_attribute<AttributeType>(reinterpret_cast<RawDataPtr>(&result));
                         attribute_ref = *buffer_ptr;
-                    });
+                    } else {
+                        throw UnreachableHit{"ColumnarAttributeRange::get", "AttributeType larger than value_type!"};
+                    }
+                });
             }
             return result;
         }
diff --git a/power_grid_model_c/power_grid_model/include/power_grid_model/common/three_phase_tensor.hpp b/power_grid_model_c/power_grid_model/include/power_grid_model/common/three_phase_tensor.hpp
index 1cb1a4867..862993240 100644
--- a/power_grid_model_c/power_grid_model/include/power_grid_model/common/three_phase_tensor.hpp
+++ b/power_grid_model_c/power_grid_model/include/power_grid_model/common/three_phase_tensor.hpp
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ template <class T> using EigenDiagonalTensor3 = Eigen::DiagonalMatrix<T, 3>;
 
 template <scalar_value T> class Vector : public EigenVector3<T> {
   public:
-    Vector() { (*this) = EigenVector3<T>::Zero(); };
+    Vector() { this->setConstant(T{}); };
     // eigen expression
     template <typename OtherDerived> Vector(Eigen::ArrayBase<OtherDerived> const& other) : EigenVector3<T>{other} {}
     template <typename OtherDerived> Vector& operator=(Eigen::ArrayBase<OtherDerived> const& other) {
diff --git a/power_grid_model_c/power_grid_model/include/power_grid_model/math_solver/y_bus.hpp b/power_grid_model_c/power_grid_model/include/power_grid_model/math_solver/y_bus.hpp
index 9f76876fb..3c5a48a96 100644
--- a/power_grid_model_c/power_grid_model/include/power_grid_model/math_solver/y_bus.hpp
+++ b/power_grid_model_c/power_grid_model/include/power_grid_model/math_solver/y_bus.hpp
@@ -289,6 +289,9 @@ template <symmetry_tag sym> class YBus {
          std::shared_ptr<MathModelParam<sym> const> const& param,
          std::shared_ptr<YBusStructure const> const& y_bus_struct = {})
         : math_topology_{topo_ptr} {
+        assert(math_topology_ != nullptr);
+        assert(param != nullptr);
+
         // use existing struct or make new struct
         if (y_bus_struct) {
             y_bus_struct_ = y_bus_struct;
@@ -447,29 +450,31 @@ template <symmetry_tag sym> class YBus {
     template <typename T>
         requires std::same_as<T, BranchSolverOutput<sym>> || std::same_as<T, BranchShortCircuitSolverOutput<sym>>
     std::vector<T> calculate_branch_flow(ComplexValueVector<sym> const& u) const {
-        std::vector<T> branch_flow(math_topology_->branch_bus_idx.size());
-        std::transform(math_topology_->branch_bus_idx.cbegin(), math_topology_->branch_bus_idx.cend(),
-                       math_model_param_->branch_param.cbegin(), branch_flow.begin(),
-                       [&u](BranchIdx branch_idx, BranchCalcParam<sym> const& param) {
-                           auto const [f, t] = branch_idx;
-                           // if one side is disconnected, use zero voltage at that side
-                           ComplexValue<sym> const uf = f != -1 ? u[f] : ComplexValue<sym>{0.0};
-                           ComplexValue<sym> const ut = t != -1 ? u[t] : ComplexValue<sym>{0.0};
-                           T output;
-
-                           // See "Branch Flow Calculation" in "State Estimation Alliander"
-                           output.i_f = dot(param.yff(), uf) + dot(param.yft(), ut);
-                           output.i_t = dot(param.ytf(), uf) + dot(param.ytt(), ut);
-
-                           if constexpr (std::same_as<T, BranchSolverOutput<sym>>) {
-                               // See "Shunt Injection Flow Calculation" in "State Estimation Alliander"
-                               output.s_f = uf * conj(output.i_f);
-                               output.s_t = ut * conj(output.i_t);
-                           }
-
-                           return output;
-                       });
-        return branch_flow;
+        assert(math_topology_ != nullptr);
+
+        return std::views::zip(math_topology_->branch_bus_idx, math_model_param_->branch_param) |
+               std::views::transform([&u](auto const& branch_idx_params) -> T {
+                   auto const& [branch_idx, param] = branch_idx_params;
+
+                   auto const [f, t] = branch_idx;
+                   // if one side is disconnected, use zero voltage at that side
+                   ComplexValue<sym> const uf = f != -1 ? u[f] : ComplexValue<sym>{0.0};
+                   ComplexValue<sym> const ut = t != -1 ? u[t] : ComplexValue<sym>{0.0};
+                   T output;
+
+                   // See "Branch Flow Calculation" in "State Estimation Alliander"
+                   output.i_f = dot(param.yff(), uf) + dot(param.yft(), ut);
+                   output.i_t = dot(param.ytf(), uf) + dot(param.ytt(), ut);
+
+                   if constexpr (std::same_as<T, BranchSolverOutput<sym>>) {
+                       // See "Shunt Injection Flow Calculation" in "State Estimation Alliander"
+                       output.s_f = uf * conj(output.i_f);
+                       output.s_t = ut * conj(output.i_t);
+                   }
+
+                   return output;
+               }) |
+               std::ranges::to<std::vector<T>>();
     }
 
     // calculate shunt flow based on voltage, injection direction
@@ -477,6 +482,8 @@ template <symmetry_tag sym> class YBus {
         requires std::same_as<SolverOutputType, ApplianceSolverOutput<sym>> ||
                  std::same_as<SolverOutputType, ApplianceShortCircuitSolverOutput<sym>>
     std::vector<SolverOutputType> calculate_shunt_flow(ComplexValueVector<sym> const& u) const {
+        assert(math_topology_ != nullptr);
+
         std::vector<SolverOutputType> shunt_flow(math_topology_->n_shunt());
         for (auto const [bus, shunts] : enumerated_zip_sequence(math_topology_->shunts_per_bus)) {
             for (Idx const shunt : shunts) {
diff --git a/power_grid_model_c/power_grid_model_c/CMakeLists.txt b/power_grid_model_c/power_grid_model_c/CMakeLists.txt
index 14a8ad986..96f21adc7 100644
--- a/power_grid_model_c/power_grid_model_c/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/power_grid_model_c/power_grid_model_c/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -49,6 +49,33 @@ set_target_properties(
         INTERPROCEDURAL_OPTIMIZATION_RELWITHDEBINFO TRUE
 )
 
+if(PGM_ENABLE_HARDENING)
+    target_compile_definitions(
+        power_grid_model_c
+        PRIVATE
+            "$<$<OR:$<CXX_COMPILER_ID:GNU>,$<CXX_COMPILER_ID:Clang>>:_FORTIFY_SOURCE=2>"
+            "$<$<CXX_COMPILER_ID:MSVC>:_ITERATOR_DEBUG_LEVEL=$<IF:$<CONFIG:DEBUG>,2,1>>"
+    )
+    if(NOT CMAKE_HOST_SYSTEM_NAME STREQUAL "Windows")
+        set(_HAS_ADDRESS_SANITIZER
+            "$<NOT:$<OR:$<IN_LIST:address,${CMAKE_CFLAGS}>,$<IN_LIST:address,${CMAKE_CXXFLAGS}>>>"
+        )
+        target_compile_options(
+            power_grid_model_c
+            BEFORE
+            PRIVATE "-fstack-protector" "-fsanitize=undefined" "-fno-sanitize-recover=undefined"
+        )
+    endif()
+    target_link_options(
+        power_grid_model_c
+        BEFORE
+        PRIVATE
+            "$<$<OR:$<CXX_COMPILER_ID:GNU>,$<CXX_COMPILER_ID:Clang>>:-fstack-protector;-fsanitize=undefined;-fno-sanitize-recover=undefined>"
+            "$<$<CXX_COMPILER_ID:GNU>:-static-libubsan>"
+            "$<$<CXX_COMPILER_ID:Clang>:-lubsan>"
+    )
+endif()
+
 install(
     TARGETS power_grid_model_c
     EXPORT power_grid_modelTargets
diff --git a/power_grid_model_c/power_grid_model_c/src/dataset.cpp b/power_grid_model_c/power_grid_model_c/src/dataset.cpp
index 241eaae88..acd3617cc 100644
--- a/power_grid_model_c/power_grid_model_c/src/dataset.cpp
+++ b/power_grid_model_c/power_grid_model_c/src/dataset.cpp
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ using power_grid_model_c::to_c_size;
 // dataset info
 
 char const* PGM_dataset_info_name(PGM_Handle* handle, PGM_DatasetInfo const* info) {
-    return call_with_catch(handle, [info] { return safe_ptr_get(safe_ptr(cast_to_cpp(info))->dataset).name; });
+    return call_with_catch(handle, [info] { return safe_ptr_get(safe_ptr_get(cast_to_cpp(info)).dataset).name; });
 }
 
 PGM_Idx PGM_dataset_info_is_batch(PGM_Handle* handle, PGM_DatasetInfo const* info) {
diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index b2c4ae17f..56344a1fe 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -76,11 +76,13 @@ Discussion = "https://github.com/orgs/PowerGridModel/discussions"
 power_grid_model = "power_grid_model._core.power_grid_model_c"
 
 [tool.scikit-build]
-logging.level = "INFO"
+logging.level = "DEBUG"
 
 cmake.version = ">=3.23"
 cmake.build-type = "Release"
 cmake.args = ["-GNinja"]
+cmake.verbose = true
+
 
 build-dir = "build"
 
@@ -204,11 +206,12 @@ test-command = "pytest {package}/tests"
 # we do not support 
 #    PyPy
 #    musllinux in aarch64
-#    disable Python 3.14 for now until it is released
 skip = ["pp*", "*-musllinux_aarch64"]
 
 [tool.cibuildwheel.linux]
 archs = ["x86_64", "aarch64"]
+before-all = """yum install -y gcc-toolset-14 && \
+    source /opt/rh/gcc-toolset-14/enable"""
 environment = { CC = "gcc", CXX = "g++" }
 manylinux-x86_64-image = "manylinux_2_28"
 manylinux-aarch64-image = "manylinux_2_28"
diff --git a/tests/native_api_tests/CMakeLists.txt b/tests/native_api_tests/CMakeLists.txt
index 0306b8611..4d436a7b1 100644
--- a/tests/native_api_tests/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/tests/native_api_tests/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -31,4 +31,9 @@ target_compile_definitions(
     PRIVATE PGM_ENABLE_EXPERIMENTAL
 )
 
+set_target_properties(
+    power_grid_model_api_tests
+    PROPERTIES BUILD_RPATH $<TARGET_FILE_DIR:power_grid_model_c>
+)
+
 doctest_discover_tests(power_grid_model_api_tests)