I need to tell you about the dumbest mistake I made last month. And why it's probably happening to you right now
The $142K Wake-Up Call
One of our biggest strategic clients ran a security audit on our code. Standard stuff - they do it quarterly
Except this time, their security team found things that made me want to disappear:
First discovery: Hardcoded passwords. Not encrypted passwords. Not hashed passwords. Actual plaintext passwords sitting in our codebase like we're building WordPress blogs in 2015
Second discovery: Their SQL queries were a mess. No parameterization. No input validation. The kind of code that makes database administrators have nightmares
Third discovery (the one that almost ended everything): User A could see User B's personal data by simply changing a number in the URL. Customer names, addresses, phone numbers - all exposed with a basic browser hack any intern could figure out
Their practice head called me directly: "Aman, either your team doesn't know what they're doing or they don't care. Which is it?"
I couldn't answer because I honestly didn't know
So, grab a pen and paper (or your favorite note-taking app; I'm not judging). It's time for a brutal honesty session
TODAY’S MENU
The Problem: You may be shipping security flaws disguised as features, while competitors gain trust with rock-solid apps
The Risk: One audit could cost you your biggest client, your reputation and a legal nightmare
The Fix: Shift to a security-first dev culture. We did and turned a near-firing into a £167K win
⚠️ PROBLEMS AND THEIR NEGATIVE IMPACT
The Real Problem (It Wasn't just Security)
Here's what I discovered when I dug into our development process:
The Password Problem: Our developers were storing API keys and database passwords directly in code because "it's faster than setting up environment variables." One developer told me, "But it works fine in testing"
The SQL Nightmare: Junior developers were building queries by concatenating strings because they'd never heard of prepared statements. Our senior developer was too busy managing 12 different projects to review any of this
The Data Leak: We weren't validating user permissions on data requests. If you knew how to change a URL parameter, you could access anyone's information
The tech lead who was supposed to catch this stuff was managing 3 different projects, including supporting the sales team in giving estimates
Sound familiar?
The security hole was just the symptom. The disease was that we'd built a development culture where "it works" was good enough
And "it works" isn't good enough when you're handling other people's money
🤔 QUIZ
Q: After a security audit reveals multiple vulnerabilities in your code, what's the best approach to maintain client trust?
A) Fix the issues quietly and hope the client doesn't ask for details
B) Blame the issues on tight deadlines and promise to do better next time
C) Show complete transparency by demonstrating your fixes and new security processes live to the client
D) Offer a discount on future work to compensate for the security problems
👉 Take a moment to ponder your answer, and I'll reveal the correct choice later in this newsletter.
💡How We Fixed Each Problem (The Brutal Way)
Week 1: Emergency Code Review. I pulled every developer off feature work. All hands on security review. We went through every single file looking for hardcoded credentials, SQL vulnerabilities, and data access issues
Found 23 more problems we'd been ignoring [Luckily, the client didn’t catch them]
The Password Fix:
Moved all credentials to environment variables in 48 hours
Set up automated scans that block any commit with hardcoded secrets
Made credential management part of our onboarding process
The SQL Fix:
Rewrote every database query using prepared statements
Created a database access layer that prevents direct SQL from application code
Made SQL injection testing mandatory for every feature
The Data Access Fix:
Implemented proper user authentication on every data request
Added permission checks that verify users can only access their own data
Built automated tests that try to access unauthorized data
Week 2: New Rules That Hurt
Every line of code gets reviewed by someone who didn't write it (no exceptions)
Security scans run automatically - failed scans block deployments
Any security vulnerability gets you a personal conversation with me
Junior developers can't touch production data without senior review
Week 3: Client Transparency I showed the client our new process. Live demo of security scans. Walked them through our new review workflow. Proved that the same vulnerabilities couldn't happen again.
The Numbers That Actually Matter
Before: 23 security vulnerabilities across 8 client projects. Customer data exposed on 3 different platforms
After: Zero vulnerabilities in 3 weeks. Zero data breaches. 3 new security portal development, Automation testing contracts worth $203K
The number that really matters: Our client retention went from 20% to 100%
Turns out, when clients trust your technical competence and transparency in your process, they stick around
🎯 What You Should Do This Week
Run this audit on your current projects:
Password Audit: Search your codebase for "password", "secret", "key", "token". If you find any in plaintext, you have 48 hours to fix it
SQL Review: Look at your database queries. Are you using prepared statements? Or are you concatenating user input directly into SQL? The second approach is how you get hacked
Data Access Test: Can users access other users' data by changing URL parameters or IDs? Test this immediately
Code Quality Check: Pick 50 lines of code from your biggest client project. Would you be comfortable showing it to their CTO?
The uncomfortable truth: Your developers aren't trying to write insecure code. They're doing exactly what your culture rewards - fast delivery over security
PS: Let's tackle these challenges together and build a business that stands the test of time. Reach out to me if you need expert help 😀
🌐 The Question That Changes Everything
If your biggest client's technical team audited your code tomorrow, would they be impressed or horrified?
If you hesitated before answering, you already know what needs to change.
Most agencies lose clients because of late delivery or budget overruns. But the clients you lose because of security breaches and data leaks? They don't just leave. They tell other people why they left. And sometimes they sue you
P.S. That client who almost fired us? They just referred us to their parent company for a $167K security overhaul project. Sometimes your biggest screw up becomes your strongest credential - if you handle it right.
What's the worst technical mistake that taught you the most?
Hit reply - I read everything and the stories might end up in future newsletters (anonymized, obviously)
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👉 HERE IS THE ANSWER TO THE QUIZ
(C) – Transparency builds trust. Showing clients exactly how you've fixed the problems and demonstrating your new processes proves you take security seriously and can handle it professionally
🧞♂️Your wish is my command
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That's a wrap for today's newsletter. Keep pushing boundaries and making waves in the tech world. Until next time, stay agile and thrive
Thanks for reading.
Until next time
Aman
www.amansingh.pro
P.S. Don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or need more guidance. I’m here to help 👊