10 Security Quick Wins for Startups (No Security Team Required)

10 Security Quick Wins for Startups (No Security Team Required)

You don’t need a CISO or security team to fix the most common vulnerabilities.

These 10 fixes take 1-2 hours each and eliminate 80% of attack vectors we see in startup audits.

1. Enable MFA on Everything (30 minutes)

The risk: 99% of account takeovers happen because passwords get leaked or phished.

What to protect:

  • AWS/GCP/Azure root account (use hardware key)
  • GitHub organization admin accounts
  • Database admin access
  • Email accounts (especially admin@)
  • Payment provider access (Stripe dashboard)

How to do it:

  • Use Google Authenticator / Authy for most services
  • Use hardware keys (YubiKey) for critical accounts (AWS root, GitHub org owner)
  • Document backup codes in password manager

Time: 30 minutes
Impact: Prevents 99% of credential-based attacks

2. Remove Secrets from Git History (2 hours)

The risk: API keys committed to GitHub 2 years ago are still valid and publicly searchable.

Check if you’re vulnerable:

git log -p | grep -i "api_key|secret|password" | head -20

If you see secrets → attackers can too.

Fix:

# Install BFG Repo-Cleaner
brew install bfg

# Remove secrets from entire history
bfg --replace-text secrets.txt your-repo.git

# Force push (warning: coordinate with team)
git push --force --all

Then: Rotate ALL exposed credentials immediately.

Time: 2 hours
Impact: Prevents credential theft from git history

3. Set Up Automated Security Scanning (1 hour)

The risk: Your dependencies have known vulnerabilities. You just don’t know which ones.

Fix: Enable automated dependency scanning:

GitHub Dependabot (Free):

# .github/dependabot.yml
version: 2
updates:
  - package-ecosystem: "npm"
    directory: "/"
    schedule:
      interval: "weekly"
    open-pull-requests-limit: 5

npm audit (Free):

npm audit
npm audit fix

Snyk (Free for open source):

npx snyk test
npx snyk monitor

Time: 1 hour setup
Impact: Catch vulnerabilities before exploitation

4. Implement Rate Limiting (1 hour)

The risk: APIs without rate limiting = credential stuffing attacks, resource exhaustion, huge bills.

Fix: Add rate limiting middleware:

Express.js:

const rateLimit = require('express-rate-limit');

const limiter = rateLimit({
  windowMs: 15 * 60 * 1000, // 15 minutes
  max: 100, // Limit each IP to 100 requests per windowMs
  message: 'Too many requests, please try again later.'
});

app.use('/api/', limiter);

// Stricter limits for auth endpoints
const authLimiter = rateLimit({
  windowMs: 15 * 60 * 1000,
  max: 5,
  message: 'Too many login attempts, please try again later.'
});

app.use('/api/auth/login', authLimiter);

Time: 1 hour
Impact: Prevents brute force attacks and API abuse

5. Enable CloudTrail / Audit Logs (30 minutes)

The risk: When something goes wrong, you have no idea who did what.

Fix: Enable comprehensive logging:

AWS CloudTrail:

aws cloudtrail create-trail 
  --name security-audit-trail 
  --s3-bucket-name my-cloudtrail-bucket 
  --is-multi-region-trail

aws cloudtrail start-logging --name security-audit-trail

Application-level:

// Log all admin actions
function logAdminAction(userId, action, resource) {
  console.log(JSON.stringify({
    timestamp: new Date().toISOString(),
    userId,
    action,
    resource,
    ip: req.ip
  }));
}

// Example usage
app.post('/api/admin/delete-user', (req, res) => {
  logAdminAction(req.user.id, 'DELETE_USER', req.body.userId);
  // ... delete user
});

Time: 30 minutes
Impact: Critical for incident response and compliance

6. Restrict Database Access (1 hour)

The risk: Production database accessible from internet = one SQL injection away from breach.

Check if you’re vulnerable:

nmap -p 5432 your-db-hostname.rds.amazonaws.com

If you see “open” → your database is publicly accessible.

Fix:

  1. Move database to private subnet (no public IP)
  2. Only allow connections from application servers:
# AWS Security Group
{
  "IpProtocol": "tcp",
  "FromPort": 5432,
  "ToPort": 5432,
  "SourceSecurityGroupId": "sg-app-servers-only"
}
  1. For emergency access, use SSH tunnel:
ssh -L 5432:private-db.internal:5432 bastion-host
psql -h localhost -p 5432 -U admin database_name

Time: 1 hour
Impact: Prevents direct database attacks

7. Set Up SSL Certificate Monitoring (15 minutes)

The risk: SSL certificate expires → site shows scary warnings → customers leave.

Fix: Automate certificate renewal and monitoring:

Let’s Encrypt with auto-renewal:

certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com --agree-tos --email admin@yourdomain.com

Set up expiration alerts:

  • SSL Labs monitoring (free): ssllabs.com/ssltest
  • UptimeRobot SSL monitoring (free tier available)
  • AWS Certificate Manager auto-renewal (if using ACM)

Time: 15 minutes
Impact: Zero-downtime SSL renewals

8. Implement Proper Password Policies (30 minutes)

The risk: Allowing weak passwords = easy account takeover.

Fix: Enforce strong passwords:

const passwordValidator = require('password-validator');

const schema = new passwordValidator();
schema
  .is().min(12)                    // Minimum 12 characters
  .has().uppercase()               // Must have uppercase
  .has().lowercase()               // Must have lowercase
  .has().digits()                  // Must have digits
  .has().not().spaces()            // No spaces
  .is().not().oneOf(['Password123', 'Admin123']); // Blacklist common passwords

// Also check against Have I Been Pwned
const pwnedpasswords = require('pwnedpasswords');
const numPwns = await pwnedpasswords(password);
if (numPwns > 0) {
  throw new Error('This password has been exposed in a data breach');
}

Time: 30 minutes
Impact: Prevents weak password exploits

9. Secure Environment Variables (1 hour)

The risk: Secrets in .env files committed to Git or readable by all application servers.

Fix: Use proper secret management:

AWS Secrets Manager:

// Store secret
aws secretsmanager create-secret 
  --name production/database/password 
  --secret-string "your-secure-password"

// Retrieve in application
const AWS = require('aws-sdk');
const client = new AWS.SecretsManager();

const data = await client.getSecretValue({
  SecretId: 'production/database/password'
}).promise();

const dbPassword = data.SecretString;

Alternatively – encrypted .env with restricted access:

# .env file permissions - only app user can read
chmod 600 .env
chown app-user:app-user .env

# Never commit .env to Git
echo ".env" >> .gitignore

Time: 1 hour
Impact: Prevents credential leaks

10. Enable Database Encryption at Rest (15 minutes)

The risk: If someone gains access to database storage, they can read all data.

Fix: Enable encryption (surprisingly easy):

AWS RDS:

# For NEW databases - enable during creation
aws rds create-db-instance 
  --db-instance-identifier mydb 
  --storage-encrypted 
  --kms-key-id your-kms-key-id

# For EXISTING databases - requires snapshot + restore
1. Create snapshot of current database
2. Copy snapshot with encryption enabled
3. Restore from encrypted snapshot
4. Update application to point to new database
5. Delete old unencrypted database

Time: 15 minutes (new DB), 2 hours (existing DB with migration)
Impact: Compliance requirement for GDPR, HIPAA, SOC 2

Total Investment vs. Impact

Quick Win Time Impact
MFA on critical accounts 30 min High
Remove secrets from Git 2 hours Critical
Automated security scanning 1 hour High
Rate limiting 1 hour Medium
Audit logs 30 min High
Restrict database access 1 hour Critical
SSL monitoring 15 min Medium
Password policies 30 min High
Secret management 1 hour Critical
Database encryption 15 min High
Total 8 hours 80% of attacks prevented

One focused day of work eliminates most attack vectors.

Need a Complete Security Review?

Our Infrastructure Audit includes security posture assessment:

  • Complete security vulnerability scan
  • Architecture review for security weaknesses
  • Compliance gap analysis (SOC 2, GDPR, HIPAA)
  • Prioritized remediation roadmap
  • We implement critical security fixes

Cost: £3,000 (2-week engagement)
Deliverable: Production-ready security posture

Perfect for startups preparing for:

  • Enterprise customer security questionnaires
  • SOC 2 Type II compliance
  • Investor due diligence
  • Series A+ fundraising

Book a Discovery Call

We’ll review your current security setup and identify quick wins specific to your stack.

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