Your external security expert on retainer
Most security engagements are project-based: you book a pentest, a training, or consulting days when a specific need arises. That works well for defined tasks. But it leaves a gap — the ongoing stream of architecture decisions, design questions, and security trade-offs that your teams face between those engagements.
The Security Sparring Partner fills that gap. It’s a monthly retainer that gives your teams continuous access to an experienced security practitioner. I’m the person they bounce things off before committing to an approach — not after a problem has already shipped.
The key distinction: I strengthen your security decision-making and help you move faster with confidence. I don’t replace your internal security function. I work alongside it as an external sparring partner, catching blind spots early and keeping the bar high.
Why a retainer instead of hourly booking?
With hourly booking, your teams call when they have a specific problem. That’s reactive, and there’s friction. People hesitate to “burn an hour” on a quick question about an architecture approach or a dependency choice. So they don’t ask, and the question goes unanswered.
A retainer flips this dynamic. Your teams know the time is already allocated, so they actually use it. They ask about the architecture decision before it’s final. They loop me in on the new feature before it ships. The small questions that prevent expensive problems later actually get asked.
In practice, retainer customers engage two to three times more frequently than hourly customers, and the conversations shift from firefighting to prevention.
Three tiers
Sparring
A regular external perspective on your security decisions.
- Scheduled monthly review call to discuss current topics, upcoming changes, and open questions
- Remaining hours available for ad-hoc questions via email or chat — no need to schedule a formal call for quick checks
- Priority scheduling and rebates when booking project work (pentests, trainings, workshops) separately
This tier works well for smaller teams or organizations that want a regular cadence with an external security expert without a large commitment.
Advisory
Deeper involvement with structured touchpoints beyond the monthly call.
- Everything in Sparring, plus:
- Bi-weekly (instead of monthly) review calls to discuss current topics, upcoming changes, and open questions
- Quarterly architecture or security posture deep-dive: a more thorough review of recent changes, new components, or areas of concern
- Findings triage support: when your scanners or tools produce results, send them over for a quick priority assessment and remediation guidance within the retainer hours
This tier fits teams that want ongoing advisory input on architecture decisions and scan results, with a structured quarterly review rhythm on top.
Embedded
Close integration into your team’s security-relevant decision-making.
- Everything in Advisory, plus:
- Weekly (instead of bi-weekly) review calls to discuss current topics, upcoming changes, and open questions
- Participation in design reviews for security-critical features — your team invites me to specific meetings when they’re building something sensitive
- Structured security improvement roadmap: I maintain a simple list of recommended improvements based on our ongoing work together, and we review progress quarterly
- Hands-on support during security incidents — when something goes wrong, I’m available within the retainer to help assess, triage, and advise on response
This tier is for organizations that want an external security partner as a regular part of their development and architecture process.
How it works in practice
- We start with a scoping call to understand your team structure, tech stack, and where external security input would help most.
- You choose a tier based on how deeply you want to integrate the retainer into your workflow.
- We set up a cadence: weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly calls, quarterly reviews (depending on tier), and communication channels for ad-hoc questions.
- Your teams start using it: architecture questions, design reviews, scan result triage, quick checks on security trade-offs — whatever comes up.
- Monthly hours are use-it-or-lose-it: no rollover, so your team is motivated to actually engage rather than accumulate unused hours.
What this is not
This retainer is an enablement and advisory relationship. It does not include:
- Taking on formal security responsibility (CISO role, compliance sign-off, or similar)
- Regulatory compliance management or certification work
- Dedicated penetration testing (available separately as Application Pentest or API Security Check)
- Structured multi-day training (available separately as Web Security Bootcamp or Custom Focus Session)
These services are complementary, and retainer customers receive priority scheduling for all of them.
Relation to other offerings
The retainer often evolves naturally from project-based engagements. For example, a customer might book a Web Security Bootcamp, then a pentest, and then realize they want ongoing input and oversight — the Security Sparring Partner formalizes that ongoing relationship.
It also pairs well with the Attack Tree Quickstart for initial threat landscape mapping, which can then be maintained and evolved as part of the ongoing retainer.
That said, the Security Sparring Partner works just as well as a standalone engagement. You don’t need to have booked previous projects first. Many organizations start directly with the retainer as their way of getting regular external security input without committing to larger engagements upfront.
Interested in discussing which tier fits your team? Let’s talk