Cybersecurity for Startups
Growth phases in startups tie up resources in product, sales, and financing. At the same time, new areas of vulnerability arise: email accounts, cloud workloads, integrations, admin access. Startups must demonstrate that these areas are under control—to customers, partners, and investors.
Cyber Security for Start-Ups & Scale-Ups
Expertise for Startups with Compliance Requirements
Jan Kahmen (Managing Partner) has supported several startups in the design and secure implementation of disruptive technologies. His experience shows that many startups come to turingpoint at precisely the moment when the next major customer is on the doorstep and a penetration test is required as part of the onboarding process.
The pressure often arises not from the ISO standard itself, but from specific customer requirements: Within the framework of ISMS, TISAX, or BISG requirements, many companies have imposed their own guidelines that require regular penetration tests by BSI-certified third parties. This is exactly where turingpoint comes in – with BSI basic protection accredited procedures and penetration testers who have been proven to work according to formally tested standards.
Innovations such as AI, blockchain, or metaverse create new attack vectors that were often not thought through during the design phase. Early investment in cybersecurity pays off – the alternative is significantly more expensive.
IT Security Protects Your Intellectual Property
The Three Biggest Challenges
Since such start-ups face many challenges at once, they are often an excellent target. They lack IT security guidelines and adequate protection for sensitive data. The reasons for this can be varied, but usually stem from a lack of expertise and limited financial resources. This is also why many cybercriminals choose to focus their attention on start-ups.
- 1. Compliance Requirements Block Customer Projects
Many startups are under pressure when the next big customer demands a penetration test for onboarding. With ISMS or TISAX requirements, proof of technical security is a prerequisite for concluding a contract.
The problem: internal tests are not enough, and large auditing companies are too slow or too expensive. The result is weeks of delays in onboarding.
- 2. Sensitive User Data Requires Verifiable Security
In the financial and healthcare sectors, comprehensible proof of data security is expected. Although many companies have carried out tests, these are often outdated or have not been performed by certified auditors. An external, certified perspective is crucial for objectively assessing the vulnerability to attack.
- 3. Cybersecurity in the Hectic Everyday Life of a Startup
In many startups, no one has time for cybersecurity. The focus is on product development, growth, and investor expectations. Security tasks compete with releases and fundraising.
The fear: email accounts, employee access, or core technology will be compromised—with consequences that threaten the company's existence in terms of revenue, reputation, and trust.
Startup References
“turingpoint was able to fully meet our requirements for an IT security service provider with a special focus on penetration testing.”
Customer Success Story with airfocus
"We were looking for a provider who is at home in the world of cyber security and also understands our specific SaaS issues. Since turingpoint develops the security platform turingsecure.com, we found ourselves on the same page after a meeting with our product. Some of our customers required that the pentester performing the test had completed OSCP certification. turingpoint was able to provide this certificate, as well as ISO 27001 accreditation on top of that." - Christian Hoffmeister
- airfocus Challenges in Finding a Provider for Penetration Tests
- Protection of sensitive customer and planning data through a pentest
- Independent third party for appropriate verification for our customers
- Uncomplicated repetition of pentests
- Discovery of vulnerabilities before they reach a customer
- Results Clearly Presented on the SaaS Platform turingsecure.com
- We communicated the results and services via our in-house platform called turingsecure.com, which also fit perfectly into our development cycle.
- Agile and flexible communication with the analysts was possible both via chat and via the turingpoint platform.
- We would commission another pentest from turingpoint at any time, as they understand our problems and pain points when it comes to cyber security.
- I would also like to highlight their direct approach to finding solutions and recommending actions!
What Is at Stake
- Without Pentest
No customer project, no approval, no revenue. A missing certificate blocks enterprise deals.
- Without Current Evidence
Delayed contracts, stricter audits, loss of trust. The GDPR requires documented security measures—those who don't have them risk fines.
- In the Event of a Security Incident
Data loss, damage to reputation, customer churn. A single incident can jeopardize major business relationships.
The turingpoint Solution
- Penetration Tests in 10 Days
We test your digital infrastructure just as a real attacker would. Realistic attack scenarios on applications, cloud structures, and interfaces—carried out by BSI-certified pentesters, additionally ePrivacy-certified.
- Self-Sufficient and Without Disruption
The pentest runs in the background – no resources tied up, no meetings to schedule. You can see live via the platform what is being tested and what risks exist.
- Realistic Attacker Perspective
We test your digital infrastructure just as a real attacker would. Realistic attack scenarios on applications, cloud structures, and interfaces—carried out by BSI-certified pentesters, additionally ePrivacy-certified.
