API Security
Why your API gateway is not a security tool
Gateways route traffic. They do not understand intent. The gap between the two is where most API abuse hides.
blog.serto.io ↗Now accepting Q3 engagements
Never trust. Always verify. Always ship.
STA is a boutique cybersecurity consultancy for cloud-native companies. Senior partners do the work — Zero Trust, API security, and vCISO services that actually ship.
Services
Four practices. One bar: senior, modern, shipped.
We focus narrowly on what cloud-native companies actually need — and we ship it.
Lead practice
Application & API Security
APIs are the new perimeter. We discover, harden, and monitor them across the lifecycle — from design review to runtime.
→ Practice
Zero Trust & Identity
Identity-first architecture for the modern enterprise. ZTNA, conditional access, microsegmentation, least privilege everywhere.
→ Practice
Cloud & Enterprise Security
AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes. Secure landing zones, CSPM/CIEM strategy, IaC security, supply chain hardening.
→ Practice
Virtual CISO
Fractional executive security leadership. Strategy, framework alignment, and incident readiness — without a full-time hire.
→Lead practice
Application & API Security
APIs are the new perimeter. We discover, harden, and monitor them across the lifecycle — from design review to runtime.
Modern apps are mostly APIs. We treat them that way: rigorous discovery, schema-first contracts, identity-aware authorization, and runtime telemetry that tells you when abuse is happening — not after.
What we cover
- API discovery
- Schema validation
- OAuth / OIDC
- Rate limiting & abuse
- BOLA / BFLA
- Secrets
- Runtime protection
- Gateway strategy
Practice
Zero Trust & Identity
Identity-first architecture for the modern enterprise. ZTNA, conditional access, microsegmentation, least privilege everywhere.
Network location is not a security signal. We help you design identity-first architectures with strong device posture, conditional access, segmentation, and just-in-time privilege — verifiable end to end.
Practice
Cloud & Enterprise Security
AWS, Azure, GCP, Kubernetes. Secure landing zones, CSPM/CIEM strategy, IaC security, supply chain hardening.
From greenfield landing zones to mature multi-account estates: secure baselines, CSPM/CIEM that actually drives action, IaC guardrails, and supply-chain hardening from build to deploy.
Practice
Virtual CISO
Fractional executive security leadership. Strategy, framework alignment, and incident readiness — without a full-time hire.
Executive security leadership at the cadence you need. Strategy aligned to your business, framework-mapped programs (ISO 27001, SOC 2, NIST CSF, PCI), and incident readiness that holds up when it matters.
Engagement models
Advisory
Monthly cadence with leadership.
- 2–4 days / month
- Roadmap & prioritization
- Board & investor briefings
Embedded
Half-time engagement, 90-day arcs.
- ~10 days / month
- Program build-out
- Audit & framework readiness
Interim
Full-time CISO until you hire.
- Hands-on leadership
- Incident response cover
- Hire & handoff
How we work
Diagnose. Architect. Implement. Operate.
A simple loop. Senior people. Tight cycles. Outcomes you can measure.
- 01 Step
Diagnose
Threat model, control gap analysis, evidence-based prioritization.
- 02 Step
Architect
Reference designs, control patterns, decision records you can defend.
- 03 Step
Implement
Hands-on with your engineers. Code, configs, pipelines — shipped.
- 04 Step
Operate
Runbooks, telemetry, drills. Hand off a program, not a slide deck.
Why STA
Boutique on purpose.
No bench, no juniors learning on your dime. Just senior partners doing the work.
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Senior-only. Every engagement led and executed by a partner.
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Modern stack. Cloud-native, API-first, identity-driven by default.
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Weeks, not quarters. Tight scopes. Shipped outcomes. No theater.
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Narrow on purpose. We say no to work outside our four practices.
Founder
Founder Name — Founder & Managing Partner
Two decades across application security, identity, and enterprise architecture. Previously led security programs at [redacted] and [redacted].
LinkedIn →Insights
We write about what we do.
Long-form. No listicles. Field notes from real engagements.
Zero Trust
Conditional access as code: lessons from a 12-week rollout
A pragmatic playbook for moving from VPN to identity-first access without breaking the engineering org.
blog.serto.io ↗ vCISO
A 90-day plan for the first-time fractional CISO
What to assess, what to ignore, and what to ship in your first quarter as a fractional security leader.
blog.serto.io ↗Contact
Have a thorny security problem? Let’s talk.
Reach a partner directly. We respond within one business day.