Pharos Production collaborated with a taxi aggregator platform to develop a high-load ride-hailing application that connects passengers and drivers in real time. This platform consolidates various fleets and independent drivers into a single system, ensuring quick ride matching, live tracking and transparent pricing. Built on a cloud-native infrastructure, the solution offers low-latency interactions, reliable trip processing and scalability for operations at the city and regional levels.
Reviewed by Dr. Dmytro Nasyrov, Founder and CTO • Last reviewed August 20, 2026
Cybersecurity Services
Pharos Production provides Cybersecurity Services that protect your applications, infrastructure and data from evolving threats.
- 50+ audits completed
- 90+ engineers
- 108 Clutch reviews
282 published client reviews across 3 platforms. Counts are summed; reviewers may appear in more than one source.
Profiles checked . Glassdoor: 46 employee reviews, 5.0/5, reported separately.
Case Study
See the products we built and the engineering work involved. Each case describes its scope and delivery context.
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Pharos developed a B2B platform that brings keyword research and search visibility analysis together with search data APIs, public-web collection and access through AI assistants. Our responsibility covered the full product.
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Pharos Production has partnered with Sagas to create a location-aware social platform that enables users to capture, publish and explore geo-located timelapses over time. This system combines real-time data ingestion, large-scale media processing and map-centric discovery to transform physical locations into dynamic digital stories. Leveraging cloud-native infrastructure and event-driven architecture, Sagas allows users to document urban changes, natural evolution and personal moments tied to specific places. The result is a scalable social network where time and location are central to content discovery.
Practice led by Dmytro Nasyrov
Founder and CTO
23+ years in custom software development. Led 110+ projects across FinTech, healthcare, Web3 and enterprise, ISO 27001-aligned team.
What is cybersecurity engineering?
Authoritative citations 12 sources
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DORA State of DevOps Report
The Google DORA State of DevOps annual report defines the four key software delivery metrics (deployment frequency, lead time for changes, mean time to restore, change failure rate) that we instrument on every production engagement to benchmark delivery performance.
dora.dev
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Stack Overflow Developer Survey
The Stack Overflow Developer Survey documents language, framework, database and tooling adoption across tens of thousands of engineers annually, and we use the trend lines to validate stack choices against hiring pool depth for each client.
survey.stackoverflow.co
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ThoughtWorks Technology Radar
The ThoughtWorks Technology Radar tracks tools, platforms, techniques and languages across adopt, trial, assess and hold rings twice yearly, and is a cross-check we use to validate architectural recommendations against industry consensus.
thoughtworks.com
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Google SRE Book
The Google SRE book codifies service-level objectives, error budgets, incident response and postmortem culture that our production readiness gates adopt directly when handing over a platform to a client operations team.
sre.google
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Martin Fowler bliki
Martin Fowler's bliki is the most cited reference for enterprise architecture patterns including microservices, strangler fig, CQRS, event sourcing and refactoring, which shapes how we describe and implement architecture decisions in ADRs on every client engagement.
martinfowler.com
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Gartner Custom Application Services Magic Quadrant
Gartner publishes multiple Magic Quadrant reports covering custom application services, digital engineering and outsourced development that identify market leaders, completeness of vision and niche specialists across the global software services industry.
gartner.com
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ISO 27001 Information Security Standard
ISO 27001:2022 defines the internationally recognized information security management system requirements that Pharos Production aligns its practices to, shaping the control framework we inherit and extend for client software engagements.
iso.org
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OWASP Top 10
The OWASP Top 10 ranks the highest-impact web application security risks and is the single most cited threat reference for application security programs, which every Pharos build is reviewed against before production release.
owasp.org
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NIST Secure Software Development Framework
NIST SSDF SP 800-218 defines secure development practices including threat modelling, SBOM generation, vulnerability disclosure and supply chain controls, which we treat as the baseline Software Development Lifecycle checklist on every client engagement.
csrc.nist.gov
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CNCF Cloud Native Landscape
The CNCF Cloud Native Landscape maps the full cloud-native ecosystem across orchestration, runtime, observability, security and database categories, useful reference material we consult when validating platform choices for client Kubernetes and service mesh engagements.
landscape.cncf.io
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Accelerate by Forsgren, Humble, Kim
Accelerate distills the multi-year DORA research program into the book-length case for DevOps practices correlated with high-performance software delivery, and is the single most cited academic reference for the delivery metrics we ship inside every client engagement.
itrevolution.com
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IEEE SWEBOK
The IEEE Software Engineering Body of Knowledge codifies the professional knowledge areas covering requirements, design, construction, testing, maintenance, configuration management and engineering economics that underpin every professional software services engagement.
computer.org
- Compliance-theater engagements where the client wants a report but not remediation
- 24/7 managed SOC operations (we are not a managed security service provider)
- Incident response for active breaches without partner IR firms in the loop
- Security audits of systems the client cannot access or instrument
Cybersecurity engineering at Pharos Production at a glance
- Engagements: 50+ formal security engagements since 2018 (web/API pen tests, cloud reviews, source audits, smart contract audits, SDLC hardening)
- Stack: Burp Suite Pro, OWASP ZAP, Semgrep, CodeQL, Snyk, Trivy, Prowler, ScoutSuite, Pacu, Metasploit, custom tooling
- Specializations: Web/API app security, cloud security (AWS/GCP/Azure), container + Kubernetes, smart contract audits, SDLC integration
- Pricing: Web/API pen test from $12,000-$40,000; cloud review $15,000-$50,000; source code audit $30,000-$120,000+
- Timeline: Web pen test 2-4 weeks; cloud review 1-2 weeks; full audit 4-8 weeks with remediation cycle
- Report deliverable: Executive summary + technical writeup per finding + reproduction steps + remediation guidance + retest pass after fixes
- Compliance: ISO 27001-aligned team, SOC 2 / HIPAA / PCI DSS readiness assessments, evidence preparation for accredited auditors
- Honest scope: We recommend threat modeling over pen tests for greenfield and decline compliance theater
Independent pen test vs internal AppSec team: which is better?
Independent pen tests give you a fresh adversarial perspective and a defensible report for customers, regulators and insurers. Internal AppSec teams give you continuous coverage and tribal knowledge integrated into the development cycle. According to NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 guidance, the strongest security postures use both: continuous internal coverage plus periodic independent audits at major releases and compliance milestones.
| Factor | Independent pen test | Internal AppSec only |
|---|---|---|
| Adversarial view | Fresh eyes; no assumptions baked in by the build team | Familiarity blind spots; harder to challenge own design |
| Defensible report | Third-party report for customers, regulators and cyber insurance | Internal memo; less weight with external stakeholders |
| Coverage cadence | Periodic deep dives at major releases or compliance milestones | Continuous; integrated into PR review and CI |
| Tooling | Mature commercial tools amortized across many engagements | Cost of building and maintaining your own tooling stack |
| Specialization | Smart contract / cloud / mobile / appsec specialists per engagement | Generalist coverage; deep specialization is expensive |
| Remediation | Findings + concrete remediation guidance + retest pass | Owned by build team; varies by engineer experience |
| Cost (year 1) | $30,000-$120,000 depending on scope and audit type | $200K-$500K loaded for 2-3 senior AppSec hires |
| Best fit | Pre-launch, post-major-release, compliance audits, customer due diligence | Continuous protection across day-to-day shipping |
Our security engagement protocol
Cybersecurity engagements follow Pharos Verified Delivery with audit-specific gates: discovery scopes asset inventory, threat model and regulatory requirements; build executes the structured testing or review protocol; production readiness delivers remediation guidance ranked by severity with retest pass; post-engagement supports retest after client fixes and a 30-day question window.
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Phase 01 / 04 Paid Discovery
Week 0
2-4 weeks
- Technical validation
- Architecture proposal
- Scope refined estimate
82% on-schedule with discovery
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Phase 02 / 04 Iterative Build
Week 2-4
2-week sprints
- Working demos every sprint
- CTO review at milestones
- ADRs documented
Transparent progress tracking
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Phase 03 / 04 Production Readiness
Week 8-24
- Monitoring and alerting
- Security audit Pen test
- Runbooks and rollback
ISO 27001 aligned
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Phase 04 / 04 Support
Launch day
Ongoing
In progress
- Security patches
- Performance tuning
- 4h SLA response
Continuous improvement
Pharos Verified Delivery applied to 110+ production applications since 2013
Security engagements we can talk about
Three recent audits and reviews where the specific finding surfaced a pattern worth sharing. Client details anonymized; severity ratings follow CVSS 3.1.
Web app penetration test
FinTech web app handled $40M monthly transaction volume. Internal security review found nothing. External pen test had not been performed.
Pharos pen test found 1 critical and 7 high-severity vulnerabilities including authentication bypass and IDOR. All fixed within 3 weeks. Subsequent quarterly tests find only minor issues.
The critical was a JWT verification bug that let an attacker escalate to admin with a crafted token; IDORs let authenticated users read adjacent account balances. Fixes shipped with a permanent authorization middleware pattern the client now reuses across all services.
Cloud configuration review
AWS environment grown organically over 4 years. 180+ IAM policies, 47 public S3 buckets, no baseline for least privilege. CSPM tool flagged 2,100 findings with no prioritization.
Security hardening project: 38 public buckets made private or encrypted, IAM policies consolidated to 42 role-based templates, CSPM findings reduced 81%, prioritized remediation backlog for the rest. Automated drift detection via Prowler in CI.
We triaged the 2,100 findings by exploitability and data sensitivity, weighted above the raw severity score. 340 findings were critical on paper but unreachable behind defense-in-depth; 180 were lower severity but directly exposed PHI. We fixed those first, then built CI drift detection to prevent regression.
SDLC hardening
Security testing was manual and ad-hoc. Vulnerabilities reached production. Each release required 2 weeks of manual security review and blocked engineering.
Automated CI pipeline with SAST (Semgrep), dependency scanning (Dependabot, Trivy), secrets detection (gitleaks), container scanning and SBOM generation. Release security review reduced to 4 hours. Zero critical vulnerabilities in production for 14 months.
Semgrep rules scoped to the client codebase, Dependabot with auto-PR remediation for safe upgrades, gitleaks on every push, weekly Trivy scan of container images. Findings route directly to the engineer who owns the code, not a shared security inbox.
Client names anonymized under NDA. Full case studies at /cases/.
When a full security audit is not the answer
We decline roughly 30% of RFPs we receive. Forcing a bad fit costs both sides 3-6 months and damages outcomes. Here is how we think about scope:
- Internal-only tools with no external attack surface and no sensitive data
- Greenfield projects without an MVP to actually test
- Compliance "checkboxes" without budget to fix what the audit finds
- Audits requested for marketing without intent to remediate
- 24/7 managed SOC needs (we are not a managed security provider)
Not every project needs a full pen test. Sometimes a threat model session catches issues before code is written. Sometimes a SAST baseline plus dependency scanning is the right level of investment. We start every security engagement by asking what you are actually trying to protect and recommend the appropriate depth - not the most expensive option. We have closed engagements with "a 2-hour threat model will save you $40K on a pen test" as the deliverable.
Pharos security portfolio
Pharos security delivery portfolio observations, 2019-2026
Ranges we consistently see across our security delivery portfolio.
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Mature teams cover 80-92% of MITRE ATT&CK technique IDs observed in their threat model with EDR or log-based detection.
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Critical CVE patch SLA hit rate ranges 78-94% on teams with automated patching; drops to 42-65% on manual processes.
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1.5-4 hours mean time to recovery for P1 security incidents on teams with documented runbooks and weekly tabletop exercises.
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SBOM generation rate went from 18% of engagements in 2023 to 73% in 2025. Expect 95%+ in 2026 once EU and SEC attestation requirements bite.
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6-12 weeks for baseline security hardening and SOC 2 readiness scaffolding; 12-24 weeks for zero trust architecture rollout on existing stacks[7].
Cybersecurity outlook 2026-2027
Application security and enterprise defense are being reshaped on three fronts: default zero trust, mandatory supply-chain attestation and AI-augmented SOC triage.
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Zero trust becomes default, not premium
Zero trust architecture shifts from large-enterprise category to default expectation for mid-market SaaS. Identity-first access control replaces network-perimeter assumptions even on internal services[9].
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Supply chain attestation goes mandatory
SBOM, SLSA attestation and dependency signing move from advisory (SEC and EU NIS2) to buyer-required by 2027. Teams without build-chain provenance lose enterprise contracts.
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AI-augmented SOC changes triage economics
LLM-assisted triage and enrichment compress mean time to investigation materially, shifting SOC staffing toward investigation engineering versus alert handling.
Our four-dimension security evaluation template
Every security engagement we ship runs against the same four-dimension readiness evaluation before handover.
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25%
Identity and access controls
Evaluated on MFA coverage, privilege model, session binding and break-glass path. Phishing-resistant MFA on privileged accounts; least-privilege enforced at service and DB layers; documented break-glass with time-bounded access[9].
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30%
Detection and response coverage
Evaluated on EDR coverage, centralized logging, MTTR and runbook completeness. EDR on all endpoints and servers; centralized logging with 90-day hot retention; MTTR under 4h for P1; runbooks for the top 20 alert patterns.
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20%
Supply chain and dependency hygiene
Evaluated on SBOM coverage, dependency scan cadence and signed builds. SBOM generated on every build; dependency scan run daily; critical CVE patch SLA 7 days; production builds signed and verified[11].
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25%
Compliance and audit readiness
Evaluated on ISO 27001 and SOC 2 control mapping, evidence automation and audit trail. ISO 27001 or SOC 2 controls mapped to code and process; evidence collection automated; tamper-evident audit trail retained 12 months[7].
Production post-mortem
When the log aggregator had no PII redaction
This example is published with the client's permission. During a July 2025 audit of a FinTech client's environment, full HTTP request bodies were being routed to a centralized logging stack without PII scrubbing. Credit card numbers and partial SSNs surfaced in observability logs accessible to 40+ engineers. The exposure triggered a GDPR notification deadline before our audit caught it. The root cause was missing PII scrubbing at the log-shipper layer.
PII redaction now enforced at log-shipper layer for every engagement. PII fingerprint scan added to pre-production checklist. Observability data classification reviewed quarterly against data-sensitivity policy.
Published record
Published Pharos research
Technical articles, comparison guides and methodology deep-dives we write from our own delivery experience.
Platforms we work with
Technology platforms and company references shown for identification. A logo does not establish a commercial partnership or endorsement.
16 references-
Consensys
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Gate.io
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Coinbase
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Ludo
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Core Scientific
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Debut Infotech
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Axoni
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Alchemy
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StarkWare
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MARA Holdings
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MicroStrategy
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Nubank
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OKX
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Uniswap
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Riot
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LeewayHertz
About the founder and CTO
Founder and CTO Pharos Production
I design and build reliable software solutions - from lightweight apps to high-load distributed systems and blockchain platforms.
PhD in Artificial Intelligence, MSc in Computer Science (with honors), MSc in Electronics & Precision Mechanics.
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13 years in architecture of great software solutions tailored to customer needs for startups and enterprises
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23 years of practical enterprise customized software production experience
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Lecturer at the National Kyiv Polytechnic University
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Doctor of Philosophy in Artificial Intelligence
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Master's degree in Computer Science, completed with excellence
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Master's degree in Electronics and precision mechanics engineering
Choose your project scope
Pharos Production scopes engagements in three tiers, Proof of concept, MVP build and Enterprise platform, with typical budgets from $10,000 to $500,000+ depending on scope and complexity.
Proof of concept
Focused validation of your riskiest technical assumption with a working spike and a clear build-or-pivot recommendation.
MVP build
Production-ready first version with core flows, real backend and the integrations to onboard first paying users.
Enterprise platform
Full-scale build with architecture, DevOps, QA, security and long-term evolution.
Prices vary based on project scope, complexity, timeline and requirements. Hourly rates range from $50 to $99 depending on role and seniority. Contact us for a personalized estimate.
Interaction models for staff augmentation, dedicated teams and outsourcing
Request staff augmentation
Need extra hands on your software project? Our developers can jump in at any stage - from architecture to auditing - and integrate seamlessly with your team to fill any technical gaps.
Hire dedicated experts
Whether you're building from scratch or scaling fast, our engineers are ready to step in. You stay in control, and we handle the code.
Outsource your project
From first line to final audit, we handle the entire development process. We will deliver secure, production-ready software, while you can focus on your business.
Technologies, tools and frameworks we use
We select the stack for your product, integrations and operating requirements.
Our engineers work with 8+ technologies across 2 categories: DevOps, Tests.
- DevOps: DevOps Tools: Kubernetes, Terraform, Docker, Prometheus, Grafana, Vault
- Tests: Test Automation Tools: Postman, JMeter
DevOps
DevOps Tools 6
Tests
Test Automation Tools 2
Partnerships and awards
Selected badges from Clutch, GoodFirms and The Manifest. Open the issuer profiles to review categories and dates.
An approach to the development cycle
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Team Assembly
Our company starts and assembles an entire project specialists with the perfect blend of skills and experience to start the work.
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MVP
We'll design, build and launch your MVP, ensuring it meets the core requirements of your software solution.
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Production
We'll create a complete software solution that is custom-made to meet your exact specifications.
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Continuous Support
Our company will be right there with you, keeping your software solution running smoothly, fixing issues and rolling out updates.
Security engineering insights
Cybersecurity Terms Explained 7
- Penetration Testing
- An authorized simulated attack against an application, network or cloud environment to find and safely exploit vulnerabilities, producing evidence and remediation guidance before real attackers do.
- SAST
- Static Application Security Testing analyzes source code or binaries without running them, flagging injection, hardcoded secrets and insecure patterns early in the development pipeline.
- DAST
- Dynamic Application Security Testing probes a running application from the outside, sending crafted requests to uncover runtime flaws such as authentication bypass and server misconfiguration.
- Threat Modeling
- A structured analysis of a system's data flows and trust boundaries, often using STRIDE, to identify likely attack paths and prioritize mitigations during design.
- SOC 2
- An AICPA auditing framework that evaluates how a service organization manages data across security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality and privacy criteria.
- PCI DSS
- The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, a set of controls that organizations handling cardholder data must meet to protect payment information from breach.
- CVSS
- The Common Vulnerability Scoring System, a 0 to 10 numeric scale that rates the severity of a vulnerability based on exploitability and potential impact.
Frequently asked questions about Cybersecurity Services
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How much do cybersecurity services cost?
A focused penetration test typically costs between $8,000 and $30,000 depending on scope, while ongoing managed security or DevSecOps engagements run on monthly retainers. Pricing reflects the number of applications, network size, compliance framework targeted and whether the work is a one-time assessment or a continuous program with retesting and remediation support.
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What types of penetration testing do you perform?
We perform web application, API, mobile, network, cloud and internal infrastructure penetration testing using black-box, gray-box and white-box approaches. Engagements follow OWASP Testing Guide and PTES methodologies, combine manual exploitation with tooling and conclude with a prioritized findings report, proof-of-concept evidence and a remediation retest.
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Which compliance frameworks do you support?
We help teams prepare for and pass SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, PCI DSS and GDPR assessments. Work includes gap analysis against the relevant controls, evidence collection, policy and control implementation, security testing and readiness reviews. We align technical hardening with auditor expectations so the assessment itself goes smoothly.
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How long does a security assessment take?
A standard web application penetration test takes 1 to 3 weeks including reporting, while a full compliance audit preparation for SOC 2 or ISO 27001 can span 2 to 4 months. Timelines depend on application count, environment complexity, the depth of threat modeling required and how much remediation is needed before the formal assessment.
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What is included in DevSecOps integration?
DevSecOps integration embeds security into your CI/CD pipeline with SAST scanning of source code, DAST scanning of running applications, software composition analysis for dependencies and secrets detection. We configure tools such as Semgrep, OWASP ZAP, Snyk and Trivy, set policy gates and train engineers to triage findings without slowing delivery.
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What is threat modeling and when do you do it?
Threat modeling maps your system's data flows, trust boundaries and assets to identify likely attack paths before code is written or shipped. We typically run it during design and major architecture changes using STRIDE and attack tree techniques, producing a ranked list of threats with concrete mitigations the engineering team can implement.
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Do you provide security code review?
Yes. Security code review manually inspects source for injection flaws, broken authentication, insecure cryptography, access control gaps and unsafe dependency usage that automated scanners miss. We combine SAST output with expert review of authentication, authorization and data handling logic, then deliver findings mapped to OWASP and CWE categories with fix guidance.
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What deliverables do you provide after an engagement?
Every engagement concludes with an executive summary, a technical findings report ranked by severity using CVSS, proof-of-concept evidence, remediation guidance and a retest to confirm fixes. Compliance engagements add control mapping, policy artifacts and audit-ready evidence. We walk your team through the report so findings translate into prioritized engineering work.
The Pharos takeaway on cybersecurity
Cybersecurity rewards teams that treat identity, detection and supply chain as first-class engineering concerns rather than compliance checkboxes[8]. Zero trust, SBOM attestation and AI-augmented triage are the three areas that separate teams ready for the 2026 threat landscape from teams that have not touched their threat model since the last audit.
Book a 30-minute security readiness call
Your business results matter
Achieve them with minimized risk through our bespoke innovation capabilities
What happens next?
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Contact us
Contact us today to discuss your project. We're ready to review your request promptly and guide you on the best next steps for collaboration
Same day -
NDA
We're committed to keeping your information confidential, so we'll sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement
1 day -
Plan the Goals
After we chat about your goals and needs, we'll craft a comprehensive proposal detailing the project scope, team, timeline and budget
3-5 days -
Finalize the Details
Let's connect on Google Meet to go through the proposal and confirm all the details together!
1-2 days -
Sign the Contract
As soon as the contract is signed, our dedicated team will jump into action on your project!
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