Startup Security

Security Package for Startups and Founders

You built something. Now protect it. And your users.

Sherlock Forensics offers security audits designed for startups and founders. The Quick Audit at $1,500 CAD is minimum viable security, covering authentication, authorization, injection, secrets exposure and API security. Results in 3-5 business days. Over 20 years of certified security experience. Ideal for pre-launch, pre-fundraising and SOC 2 readiness. Contact 604.229.1994.

You built your product in weeks with AI coding tools. You have users. You are processing payments. You might be raising money. At some point, someone is going to ask about security. An investor. A customer. A regulator. Or an attacker. Be ready with an answer.

Order a Quick Audit - $1,500 Talk to Us

Self-Assessment

Do You Need a Security Audit?

If you check even one of these boxes, the answer is yes.

01

Processing Payments

You are running transactions through Stripe, PayPal or another payment processor. You have a legal and contractual obligation to protect that data. PCI DSS applies. A vulnerability in your payment flow exposes customer financial information and can result in processor suspension.

02

Storing User Data

Emails, passwords, addresses, phone numbers, preferences. Any personal information you store is subject to PIPEDA in Canada and potentially GDPR if you serve European users. A breach triggers mandatory notification obligations regardless of your company's size.

03

Pre-Fundraising

Investors are asking about security posture. A pentest report from a qualified third party is the fastest way to answer that question with confidence. It demonstrates that you take security seriously and have invested in independent verification.

04

Pre-Launch

You are about to expose your application to the internet. Every vulnerability in your code becomes exploitable the moment you deploy. A pre-launch audit catches the critical issues while fixing them is cheapest and easiest.

05

Handling PII

Personally identifiable information carries specific legal protections. Health data, financial data, government identifiers and biometric data all have heightened compliance requirements. If your application handles any of these, a security audit is a regulatory expectation.

06

Built with AI

If Cursor, Bolt, Lovable, Claude Code or any other AI tool wrote your code, you have the same vulnerability patterns we find in 92% of AI-built applications. The AI optimized for functionality, not security. You need someone who optimizes for security.

Approach

Minimum Viable Security

What the Quick Audit Covers

Authentication and session management. Authorization and access control. SQL injection and command injection. Secrets scanning across code and git history. API security and endpoint enumeration. Configuration review for production readiness. Every finding mapped to OWASP Top 10 with prioritized remediation steps.

What You Get

A detailed report with every vulnerability categorized by severity. Step-by-step remediation instructions written for developers and AI coding tools. An executive summary suitable for investor due diligence. A re-test after remediation to confirm fixes (included in the Quick Audit tier).

How Long It Takes

The Quick Audit delivers results in 3 to 5 business days from engagement start. Most startups complete remediation in 1 to 5 additional days. From purchase to security confidence in under two weeks.

Fundraising

Investors Are Asking About Security

Due Diligence Security Questions
Investors at Seed and Series A increasingly include security posture in their due diligence checklist. "Have you had a penetration test?" is becoming as common as "What is your burn rate?" A pentest report from Sherlock Forensics gives you a concrete, third-party-verified answer. It shows you take security seriously enough to invest in it.
Post-Funding Liability
Once you take investor money, a data breach is no longer just your problem. It is your investors' problem. Demonstrating that you had a professional security assessment before deployment shows fiduciary responsibility. The absence of one, if a breach occurs post-funding, creates liability questions that no founder wants to answer.
Have an Answer Ready
When the question comes, the worst answer is "we have not done one yet." The best answer is a pentest report with findings, remediation evidence and a re-test confirmation. The Quick Audit at $1,500 CAD gives you that answer in under a week.

Compliance

Planning for SOC 2? Start Here.

Pentest Baseline

SOC 2 Type II audits require evidence of regular security testing. A penetration test from Sherlock Forensics establishes your security baseline and provides the documentation your SOC 2 auditor will ask for. Starting early means fewer surprises during the formal audit.

Gap Assessment

Our audit identifies not just vulnerabilities but security control gaps that SOC 2 evaluates. Authentication controls, access management, encryption practices, logging and monitoring. Fixing these before your SOC 2 engagement saves time and audit fees.

Continuous Improvement

SOC 2 is not a one-time event. It requires ongoing security practices. Annual penetration tests from Sherlock Forensics create a documented history of security investment that strengthens each subsequent SOC 2 review.

Proof

See What a Quick Audit Finds

Case Study: $1,500 Audit Saves a Startup

A 3-person SaaS team built with Cursor. 2,000 users. Processing Stripe payments. The Quick Audit found 8 vulnerabilities including exposed Stripe keys, SQL injection and an unauthenticated admin panel. All fixed in 2 days.

50 AI App Audit Results

Aggregate data from 50 AI code audits. 92% had critical vulnerabilities. 78% stored secrets in plaintext. 54% had SQL injection. Complete breakdown by vulnerability category with comparison data.

Vibe Coding Security Methodology

Our specialized audit methodology for applications built with Cursor, Bolt, Lovable and other AI coding tools. What we test, how we test it and what we typically find.

Frequently Asked Questions

Startup Security FAQs

How much does a startup security audit cost?
Quick Audits start at $1,500 CAD. This covers the critical vulnerability classes: authentication, authorization, injection, secrets and API security. Full penetration tests for more complex applications start at $5,000 CAD. Both include prioritized remediation and re-test.
Do I need a pentest before launching my app?
If your application handles user data, processes payments or stores PII, yes. Launching without a security audit means every vulnerability is live and exploitable from day one. A pre-launch Quick Audit costs $1,500 CAD and takes 3 to 5 business days.
What do investors want to see for security?
A penetration test report from a qualified third party, documented remediation of findings and evidence of security-aware practices. The Sherlock Forensics audit report includes all of these elements and is formatted for investor review.
Is $1,500 enough for a real security audit?
Yes. The Quick Audit is a focused, hands-on assessment by a CISSP-certified consultant with over 20 years of experience. It covers the vulnerability classes that cause the majority of data breaches. It is not a checkbox scan. It is a manual security review scoped for early-stage applications.

Get Started

Minimum viable security starts at $1,500.

Quick Audit. 3-5 business days. Prioritized findings with remediation steps. Re-test included.

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Questions Before You Order?

Tell us about your startup, your stack and your timeline. We will help you pick the right engagement tier and scope.

Call 604.229.1994
Phone
604.229.1994
Burnaby Office
Burnaby, BC, Canada
Coquitlam Office
Coquitlam, BC, Canada
Quick Audit Timeline
3-5 business days from engagement start