Client Profile
A fast-scaling fintech startup preparing for funding rounds and market launch. With a lean internal team and limited cybersecurity maturity, the company sought foundational security controls and compliance alignment to satisfy investor and partner due diligence.
Challenges Faced
Key security concerns included:
- Absence of formal cybersecurity policies and frameworks
- Lack of endpoint and network visibility across cloud infrastructure
- No incident response planning or logging capabilities
- Pressure to meet investor-grade cybersecurity due diligence requirements
Solution
COE Security implemented a tailored StartUp Cyber JumpStart Program, combining:
- Security Baseline Assessment: Identified gaps across people, process, and technology layers
- Cloud Security Hardening: Applied guardrails for identity, access, and workload protections
- Managed SOC Lite: Deployed lightweight, cost-efficient log monitoring and alerting
- Compliance Readiness Toolkit: Delivered artifacts for ISO 27001, SOC 2, and investor checklists
Startup-Ready Security Foundations
- Mapped and secured AWS environment with identity and access controls
- Delivered data classification and protection strategy
- Configured centralized audit logging across development and production
- Rolled out endpoint detection agents across developer and admin devices
- Enabled multi-factor authentication and role-based access across SaaS stack
Investor Confidence & Compliance Readiness
- Developed cybersecurity policy set tailored to startup operations
- Conducted mock due diligence assessment for Series A funding
- Created security awareness onboarding module for new hires
- Implemented an Incident Response Plan and conducted tabletop exercise
StartUp Cyber JumpStart Portfolio
- Security Posture Assessment
- Cloud Infrastructure Hardening
- Endpoint Detection & Response
- Lightweight Log Monitoring & Alerting
- Vulnerability Scanning
- Access Control & Identity Policy Setup
- Security Awareness for Startup Teams
- Compliance Artifact Preparation
- Incident Response Playbooks
- Startup Security Governance Toolkit
Implementation Details
- Completed end-to-end security assessment in under 2 weeks
- Integrated AWS, GitHub, and Slack into monitoring workflows
- Delivered 7 policies tailored to startup use cases
- Launched security onboarding module via startup’s LMS
- Provided executive summary pack for board and investor reviews
Results Achieved
- 100% coverage of core startup security domains within 30 days
- Reduced compliance readiness time by 60%
- Passed third-party risk assessments with zero critical issues
- Boosted internal team security confidence from 20% to 85% in post-implementation survey
Client Testimonial
“COE Security helped us go from zero to audit-ready in record time. Their team made security achievable and aligned with our growth – without overwhelming our startup pace.”