Vetting a Vendor's Security Practices: The Questions That Matter

Secrets management (vault, not .env files in chat), dependency scanning, code review requirements, and separation of client environments — shift-left evidence, not posters.

Incident disclosure history and how they handled it, certifications if claimed (verify), and contractual security obligations with audit rights — trust, structured.

Skipping the discipline this article describes until an incident, audit, or stalled project forces it — every practice above is cheaper adopted early than retrofitted under pressure.