Client Profile
The client is a rapidly growing fintech company providing SaaS-based investment management tools to over 20,000 users across the United States. With a development team of 80 engineers and a portfolio of APIs and web applications handling sensitive financial data, the client needed to enhance application security amid growing customer demands, regulatory scrutiny, and multiple pen-test findings.
Challenges Faced
Key security concerns included:
- Insecure coding practices in CI/CD pipelines
- Lack of centralized visibility into application-layer vulnerabilities
- Inconsistent remediation of known OWASP Top 10 risks
- No formal AppSec training or secure SDLC integration
Solution
COE Security implemented a tailored Application Security Consulting Engagement, combining:
- Static & Dynamic Code Analysis: Integrated SAST and DAST into CI/CD pipelines to catch issues early
- Threat Modeling Workshops: Conducted scenario-based design threat assessments for core services
- Secure Coding Training: Customized training for backend, frontend, and API developers
- DevSecOps Strategy: Defined a shift-left security strategy with developer-owned security metrics
Securing the Software Lifecycle
- Integrated security tools into GitHub Actions for real-time scanning
- Reduced code vulnerabilities by 72% within three sprints
- Remediated all critical OWASP Top 10 issues within the first 60 days
- Enabled automated pull request checks for security gates
- Launched secure peer-review checklists for dev teams
Governance, Strategy, and Readiness
- Designed an AppSec roadmap with quarterly objectives and KPIs
- Defined ownership for security debt through threat severity-based SLAs
- Delivered an executive dashboard with security posture by repository
- Embedded security champions in each scrum team for decentralized accountability
COE Application Security Consulting Service Portfolio
- Secure SDLC Framework Design
- Static & Dynamic Application Testing
- Threat Modeling & Risk Analysis
- DevSecOps Pipeline Integration
- Application Penetration Testing
- Developer Security Training Programs
- API Security Assessments
- Code Review & Remediation Guidance
- Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) Creation
- AppSec Metrics, KPIs, and Reporting
Implementation Details
- Deployed GitHub-integrated SAST tools (CodeQL) and OWASP ZAP for staging environments
- Integrated AppSec plugins into Jenkins and GitLab runners
- Delivered role-based security training to over 80 developers
- Developed and delivered a secure coding guideline customized for internal frameworks
- Established reporting dashboards on Jira with remediation SLA tracking
Results Achieved
- 90% of high-risk vulnerabilities eliminated in production releases
- 3x faster remediation cycles via automated ticketing and CI/CD feedback
- Alignment with OWASP ASVS Level 2 for all external-facing apps
- Dev team maturity score increased from 2.5 to 4.2 (out of 5) on AppSec scale
Client Testimonial
“Partnering with COE Security transformed how we build software. Their pragmatic approach helped us align speed with security without disrupting our workflows. We’re now not just secure – we’re confident.”