If you’re building software then by far the most efficient and cost-effective way to make it secure is to embed security in the system from the start – ideally before any code has even been written.

Why? The cost of fixing a vulnerability in a beta or published version of an application can be up to 100 times the cost of fixing an issue that was identified during the design phase.

Relative costs of fixing software defects.
Relative costs of fixing software defects (source: IBM Systems Sciences Institute).

How We Can Help

Cognitous provide cyber security expertise on a retainer basis to assist your development team throughout the software development life cycle. Our DevSecOps specialists are cyber security experts with strong development backgrounds who can support your team in a range of ways including: architecture reviews and threat modelling during the design phase; secure code reviews during development; and assisting in development of automated security test cases.

The general process is detailed below:

  1. An initial consultation helps us to understand your needs and produce a suitable proposal.
  2. Once agreed on the terms, the retainer fee is paid to secure your consultant.
  3. Get in touch as and when needed to book your consultant to participate in key design/development meetings, review your design documentation, produce threat models, undertake secure code reviews, perform penetration tests, and assist in development of automated security test cases.
  4. At the end of the engagement period, any unused retainer fees can be refunded or used for other projects.

In addition to this, we offer a range of other services to support software development teams including secure code review, secure software development training, and penetration testing.

Are you ready to step up your secure development capabilities? Contact us today to arrange a free consultation.