Launching a startup is exhilarating. You’ve pooled your creativity, resources, and time to bring your vision to life. However, amidst the rush to get new and innovative products to market, it’s crucial not to overlook security. For the latest episode of the All Aboard Podcast, ConductorOne CEO Alex Bovee talked to Rob Picard, the CEO of Observa, a consulting firm focused on helping startups develop strong security programs. Rob shared invaluable insights from his experience crafting robust security strategies tailored for early-stage companies.
The four pillars of a strong security program
In the episode, Rob details his philosophy on the four fundamental areas any company, regardless of size, should integrate into their security strategy. “Think of a security program as divided into a few pillars,” Rob says. “You have GRC (governance, risk, and compliance), security engineering, security operations, and corporate security. All of these apply at every stage of a company.” According to Rob, all four pillars are essential, whether a company has zero dedicated security personnel or a whole team at its disposal.
- Governance, risk, and compliance (GRC): GRC is foundational for any company’s security posture. This pillar involves obtaining necessary certifications like SOC 2, maintaining corporate policies, and conducting risk assessments. GRC is particularly crucial for startups intending to do business with larger companies, which often require the companies they work with to be compliant with various security standards that meet the requirements of larger businesses. Having the right compliance standards allows you to move into the market and connect with the organizations you seek to work with.
- Security engineering: In the realm of security engineering, Rob emphasized proactive measures like conducting penetration tests, running vulnerability scanners, and managing vulnerabilities. “Doing some things day one is way easier than trying to do them when you’re a 500-person company,” Rob notes, pointing to the efficiency advantages that smaller teams can leverage to get ahead on security issues before they become a problem down the line.
- Enterprise security: Also called corporate security, this pillar ensures that companies are managing identity and access effectively. This includes securing endpoints and managing permissions, implementing effective access controls, and ensuring there’s a well-implemented process through which employees and other end users can request and receive access to the entitlements needed to carry out their job functions. A good enterprise security plan can help mitigate identity breaches while ensuring employee productivity isn’t sacrificed.
- Security operations: For this pillar, Rob stresses the importance of being ready to detect and respond to live incidents efficiently. This could involve establishing protocols to handle data breaches or coordinating with third-party security providers. As Rob advises, “Most early-stage startups should put a quarterly security team meeting on the calendar. Invite whoever is part of the security team at your company—which could be the CTO, the CEO, or a head of engineering—and get a few people in a room for thirty minutes or an hour to discuss what you’re doing for security." Being proactive about building incident response plans helps companies address security challenges efficiently without disrupting day-to-day operations.
AI: The game changer
Rob has an optimistic outlook on the future of AI in security. “AI will revolutionize the security industry, enabling small teams to achieve world-class security programs with minimal resources,” he predicts. Security tooling has already made phenomenal strides in the last few years. Rob and Alex discuss how with a budget of less than $50,000, a startup with a one-person security team can build an effective program to achieve security goals that might have been unimaginable for a thousand-person team just a few years ago.
Rob encourages startups to explore and adopt AI tools to enhance their security practices, arguing that such proactive investments will pay off in the long run. He sees a future where AI plays a central role in maintaining robust security frameworks even for small teams.
A call to action
If you’re at the helm of an early-stage company, now is the time to think about your security strategy. Adopting the four pillars—GRC, security engineering, enterprise security, and security operations—can go a long way in ensuring your company is prepared for the myriad of security challenges it will face as it grows.
Tune into our latest podcast to hear more from Rob Picard and get actionable insights on fortifying your startup’s security from the ground up. Check out the episode on our website or visit our YouTube channel to hear more from Rob and other guests on the All Aboard Podcast!
