Security for Apps and Startups

Why apps and startups are a target and what is at stake

Startups live under a structural tension: the pressure for speed. The team ships features to production every day, prioritizes time-to-market and postpones security hardening to "whenever we can." The problem is that each release adds attack surface — a new API route, a payment integration, a third-party SDK — and the attacker does not wait for your roadmap. Mobile apps and their APIs are especially exposed because the code runs on the user's device, outside your control, and the backend must serve requests from any client on the internet.

What is at stake goes beyond an isolated incident. An app that leaks user data or suffers mass fraud loses the trust that sustains the product, becomes exposed to accountability from the ANPD under LGPD and can be removed from the app stores. For a startup, there is an additional, silent cost: many security flaws only surface at the worst possible moment — in the middle of an investor's due diligence or during the closing of an enterprise contract, when a security questionnaire or a request for a pentest report exposes the lack of maturity and freezes the deal.

Apps that handle money, identity or sensitive data (fintechs, health, marketplaces) concentrate even more risk, because the attacker's payoff is direct. But even an ordinary B2B SaaS is a target: leaked credentials, API tokens exposed in repositories and forgotten test accounts are entry points exploited in an automated way, at scale, against any company visible on the internet.

Threats and vectors typical of apps and startups

The vector that most often brings down modern applications is the API authorization flaw, at the top of the OWASP API Security Top 10: BOLA (Broken Object Level Authorization), frequently associated with IDOR. It happens when the backend trusts an identifier sent by the client (for example, /api/orders/1043) without verifying whether that user is entitled to that object — allowing one client to read or alter another's data just by changing the number. It is a business logic flaw, invisible to automated scanners, and for that reason only a manual API pentest finds it reliably.

In the mobile app, the problems follow OWASP MASVS/MASTG: secrets and API keys embedded in the binary (which anyone extracts through reverse engineering), insecure storage of tokens on the device, communication without certificate pinning, and lack of protections against root/jailbreak and tampering. Add to this the supply chain risk: SDKs, third-party libraries and dependencies (npm, Gradle, CocoaPods) that enter the app and the backend carrying known vulnerabilities or, in the worst case, malicious code.

The other recurring vectors are poorly implemented authentication and session management (JWT without proper validation, misconfigured OAuth2, absence of MFA) and the cloud and CI/CD infrastructure. Public S3 buckets, IAM keys with excessive permissions, secrets committed to Git and deploy pipelines without control are behind a significant share of startup leaks — not because the app's code failed, but because the configuration around it was left open.

Regulatory and contractual requirements your startup must meet

In Brazil, the legal foundation is LGPD (Law 13.709/2018). Any app that processes users' personal data must adopt technical and administrative security measures, keep a record of processing operations, have a legal basis to collect each piece of data and be able to notify the ANPD and data subjects in the event of a relevant security incident. For a startup, this translates into concrete practices: data minimization, encryption, access control, a retention policy and an incident response plan — not a facade document.

But the biggest compliance pressure on apps and startups today usually does not come from the regulator: it comes from the market. To sell to larger companies (enterprise B2B), you almost always need to pass a security questionnaire and, frequently, present a SOC 2 report (Type I or Type II) or an ISO 27001 certification. These standards prove that you have security controls implemented and audited. Without them, the sales cycle stalls in the customer's security team — and with them, you shorten the cycle and close contracts that were blocked.

The same applies to fundraising. In technical due diligence, investors assess your security maturity: they ask for the report of the latest pentest, they want to see vulnerability management, access control and a continuity plan. Arriving at that conversation with nothing is a risk signal that can lower valuation or delay the check. The good news is that SOC 2, ISO 27001 and LGPD share much of the base controls — implement it once, done well, and it satisfies all three and turns security into a commercial lever.

How Decripte implements your app's security

Decripte was built for the reality of the startup: we implement security from scratch, even when there is no internal security team. The starting point is usually the pentest — manual offensive security that goes beyond a scanner. We test the mobile app (iOS and Android) against OWASP MASVS/MASTG, the APIs and the backend against the OWASP API Security Top 10 (including BOLA/IDOR and logic flaws), and the web application. You receive a report prioritized by real risk, with proof of concept and actionable recommendations — exactly the artifact investors and enterprise customers ask for.

Beyond testing, we do the practical implementation: secrets and key management outside the binary and outside Git, solid authentication and authorization (OAuth2/JWT/MFA), cloud hardening (AWS/GCP) and integration of security into the pipeline (DevSecOps), so that vulnerabilities are caught in CI/CD before they reach production. We also drive the compliance journey — we prepare your startup to meet SOC 2, ISO 27001 and LGPD requirements, translating controls into something a lean team can implement.

As you scale, we add continuous monitoring with the 24x7 SOC, which watches your infrastructure and application in real time, and Incident Response with a containment SLA of up to 1 hour, so that a problem is contained before it becomes a headline. Edge security (WAF and DDoS protection) protects your APIs and your app at the external layer. The result is a security program that grows with the company, without requiring you to hire an entire team to get started.

Where to start

The first step is to understand your real risk, and you can do it now, at no cost and no card. Decripte's free Threat Management diagnostic (the Decripte Intelligence Center, at decripte.com.br/intelligence-center) monitors your company's credential leakage, dark web exposure and your domain's reputation. In minutes you discover, for example, whether your team's emails and passwords have already appeared in leaks — one of the most-used entry points against startups — and get a concrete basis to decide the next steps.

When you are ready to implement, the natural path depends on your moment. If there is an investment round or an enterprise contract on the horizon, start with pentesting and compliance (SOC 2 / ISO 27001 / LGPD) — that is what unblocks due diligence and sales. If the product is already in production and growing, the 24x7 SOC and Incident Response start to make sense to reduce ongoing operational risk.

To engage pentesting, SOC or IR, go to decripte.io/start. To talk to a specialist and design the right plan for your startup's stage, use decripte.io/contato. The practical recommendation: turn on the free diagnostic today and talk to Decripte to prioritize what protects your next milestone — the round, the contract or the launch.

Termos do setor

OWASP MASVS/MASTG

Open OWASP standards for mobile application security. The MASVS (Mobile Application Security Verification Standard) defines the security requirements an app must meet, and the MASTG (Mobile Application Security Testing Guide) describes how to test each one on iOS and Android.

OWASP API Security Top 10

The OWASP list of the ten most critical security risks in APIs. Led by authorization flaws like BOLA, it is the reference used in API pentests to find gaps that automated scanners do not detect.

BOLA / IDOR

Broken Object Level Authorization (frequently associated with IDOR, Insecure Direct Object Reference): a flaw in which the API allows access to or modification of another user's data just by changing an identifier in the request, because it does not verify whether the requester is entitled to that object. It is the number one vulnerability of the OWASP API Security Top 10.

DevSecOps

The practice of integrating security into the development cycle and the CI/CD pipeline, instead of treating it as a final stage. It includes automated checking of code, dependencies and cloud configuration at each delivery, to find flaws before production.

SOC 2 / ISO 27001

Auditable, internationally recognized information security standards. They prove the company has security controls implemented and verified, and are frequently required in investor due diligence and enterprise B2B contracts to unblock the sale.

Supply chain (dependency chain)

The set of third-party SDKs, libraries and dependencies (npm, Gradle, CocoaPods and others) that enter the app and the backend. They represent risk because they can carry known vulnerabilities or malicious code into your product without the team noticing.

Por onde começar

1. Turn on the free Threat Management diagnostic (decripte.com.br/intelligence-center) to map credential leakage, dark web exposure and your domain's reputation before any investment.
2. Pentest the mobile app (iOS/Android) following OWASP MASVS/MASTG, the APIs and the backend against the OWASP API Security Top 10 (BOLA/IDOR), and the web application, with a report prioritized by risk.
3. Get secrets and keys out of the app and out of Git: implement secrets management, solid authentication and authorization (OAuth2/JWT/MFA) and certificate pinning on mobile.
4. Audit and harden cloud (AWS/GCP) and CI/CD: review IAM permissions, close public buckets and resources, and integrate security and dependency/SDK checks into the pipeline (DevSecOps).
5. Begin the compliance journey (SOC 2, ISO 27001 and LGPD) by implementing the base controls that satisfy all three and unblock due diligence and enterprise B2B contracts.
6. As you scale, engage a 24x7 SOC for continuous monitoring and Incident Response with a containment SLA of up to 1 hour, adding edge security (WAF/DDoS) to the APIs and the app.
7. Talk to a Decripte specialist (decripte.io/contato) or engage directly (decripte.io/start) to prioritize what protects your next milestone: the round, the contract or the launch.

Perguntas frequentes