From zero to a real security program.
Cline Security is a boutique consultancy helping early-stage and AI-native startups stand up working security programs — threat models, pipeline integrations, foundational policies, and operational scaffolding your engineering team can actually run. You don't need a dedicated security hire to get value. When you make one, they inherit a real program instead of starting from zero.
Hardening, not auditing.
An audit hands you a PDF of everything that's wrong and wishes you luck. We leave working artifacts in the places your team already lives — so the program keeps running after we're gone.
We embed, we ship, we leave you self-sufficient.
Every engagement starts with understanding what you've already built and where you actually are — not a one-size playbook. We work alongside your team, ship working artifacts, and design the program so engineers can operate it day-to-day — without us, and without needing a specialist on staff.
Engagements are scoped tight and built to leave you with something real. We sell acceleration, not a dependency. When the work is done, you own a program — not a retainer you can't get out of.
AI changed the threat model. Most security firms haven't caught up.
Model pipelines, prompt-injection surfaces, data-handling boundaries, and output safety are not line items on a traditional AppSec checklist — and very few practitioners can credibly assess them. If you're building AI-native, security has to account for how the model actually behaves, not just the app around it.
That's the core of what Cline Security does: pragmatic, stage-appropriate hardening for teams shipping AI into production, before your next round, your first enterprise deal, or your first incident forces the issue.
Built to hand off. The goal is your first security hire.
We're not trying to become your permanent security team. Every engagement points at the same outcome: a program mature enough that hiring your first security person makes sense — and when it does, we help you get the right one.
-
01 · Engagement
We stand up the program — threat models, pipeline, runbooks, and the artifacts your team actually runs.
-
02 · Managed — optional
A managed tier keeps it current: an MCP server that encodes our methodology — threat modeling, full and incremental security assessments, release reviews, finding triage — driven by your own team. It stretches the runway before you need a dedicated hire. You don't need it to succeed; it's there when you want the leverage.
-
03 · Your first hire
When you're ready, we help you interview and vet them — as an advisor, not a recruiter. They inherit a real program instead of a blank page. That's the win.
Latest from ClineSec.
Practical notes on application security, AI security, and building programs that engineers can actually run.
Security that's real before you need it to be.
Cline Security takes a small number of clients each quarter. If you're building something serious — especially AI-native — and you know security needs to be real before your next round, your first enterprise deal, or your first incident, let's talk.
Book a 30-min intro