Security AuditISO 27001FinTech

FinTech Security Audit

ISO 27001 Readiness Program

Client

Confidential FinTech lender (multi-region)

Duration

8 weeks

Team

Security lead, AppSec engineer, Cloud engineer, Delivery manager

Situation

The client had grown quickly—new product lines, new integrations, and multiple engineering squads shipping weekly. Security controls existed, but they were inconsistent across teams. Leadership wanted a clear risk picture and a pragmatic path toward an information security management system aligned with ISO/IEC 27001 requirements.

Objectives

Establish a "single source of truth" for risk: assets, data flows, and threat exposure
Identify and remediate critical web and API security gaps
Harden cloud baseline configurations and access controls
Build an audit-ready security program foundation (policies, evidence, ownership)

What We Did

Discovery that didn’t waste engineering time

We ran short, structured interviews (Engineering, DevOps, Support, Compliance) and mapped core systems (customer portal, underwriting services, internal admin tools), trust boundaries, and vendor limitations.

Application and API security assessment

We used OWASP Top 10 categories as a common language to communicate risk. Deliverables included reproducible findings, exploit narratives, and patch guidance matching their tech stack.

Cloud hardening baseline

We standardized guardrails using CIS Benchmark-aligned configuration recommendations (identity, logging, storage, network controls) to create a reusable baseline.

Governance + evidence system ("ISMS starter kit")

We created a lightweight security management layer aligned to ISO 27001: ownership, risk register workflow, policy pack, and evidence collection approach.

Challenges & Solutions

Asset sprawl & unknown systems

Solution: Implemented an ownership map and tagging rules—no tag, no deploy.

Vendor black boxes

Solution: Introduced a vendor risk questionnaire and compensating controls (network segmentation, least privilege, monitoring).

Fixes competing with roadmap

Solution: Created a severity-based remediation plan with sprint-sized tasks and assigned "security champions" per squad.

What's Next (Phase 2)

Tabletop incident response exercise, continuous vulnerability management, and quarterly security reviews.

Key Outcomes

Reduced critical web/app findings from 12 to 0 within the engagement window
Achieved full coverage of centralized logging and alerting for 100% of production services
Established a repeatable ISO 27001-aligned risk and policy workflow adopted across all teams