Why Startups Cannot Ignore Security
The assumption that "we're too small to be a target" is wrong and expensive. 43% of cyberattacks target small businesses, and Indian SMEs and startups are increasingly in scope as larger targets harden their defences. The attacks are automated — bots scan the entire internet for specific vulnerabilities and attack them at scale, regardless of company size. A startup handling customer payment data, health records, or business financials has assets worth stealing, and inadequate security makes them easy targets.
The Five Highest-Impact Controls for Zero Budget
1. Enable MFA everywhere: Multi-factor authentication on GitHub, AWS, GCP, Firebase console, domain registrar, and email. A compromised password with MFA enabled is typically not enough for an attacker to gain access. This is the single highest ROI security control — it takes 30 minutes to enable across your tools and reduces account takeover risk by 99%.
2. Secrets management: No API keys, database passwords, or credentials in code repositories. Use environment variables and a secrets manager (AWS Secrets Manager, HashiCorp Vault, or just .env files that are in .gitignore). Run a scan of your repository history for any previously committed secrets (git-secrets tool). Rotate any credentials that were ever committed.
3. Dependency management: Run npm audit or pip audit weekly. Enable GitHub's Dependabot for automatic dependency update PRs. Many attacks exploit known vulnerabilities in outdated libraries — keeping dependencies updated closes most of this attack surface.
4. Backups: Automate daily backups of your database. Test restore from backup quarterly. An unchecked ransomware attack or accidental deletion without a tested backup is a company-ending event. Firestore and Supabase have built-in backup features — enable them explicitly.
5. Employee security hygiene: Mandatory password manager (Bitwarden is free), MFA on all work accounts, no sharing of credentials via WhatsApp or email, and a clear policy for what happens when a device is lost. Contact hello@devxaitechnologies.com for a startup security review.