Case Study
OWASP Top 10 Compliant Rails Modernization
Multi-tenant Ruby on Rails SaaS upgraded to Rails 7.x with row-level security, Gemini AI services, and comprehensive OWASP Top 10 remediation delivered in ten weeks. Zero security findings confirmed by independent audit.
10 weeks
From discovery to audit-ready platform
800+ tests
RSpec suite created from zero coverage
0 findings
Independent security audit passed
Client background
Series C enterprise SaaS serving highly regulated customers. Rails 5.2, monolithic code base, no automated coverage, and a backlog of security audit failures blocking renewals.
- Regulators required evidence of OWASP Top 10 remediation before renewing contracts.
- Customers demanded AI-powered workflows, but leadership refused to add AI without guardrails.
- Deploy cadence was monthly because manual QA was the only safety net.
Challenge summary
Security blockers
Shared schemas, deprecated gems, no audit logs, and OWASP Top 10 issues (auth, injection, logging, secrets handling).
Business impact
Revenue expansion stalled, enterprise prospects hesitated, and the support org was drowning in manual work.
Goal
Modernize the platform, ship AI assistants, and deliver audit-ready documentation in a single quarter.
Comprehensive Test Coverage & CI/CD
Zero to 800+ RSpec tests in ten weeks. Every API endpoint, parameter edge case, background job, and multi-tenant workflow gets a test. Authentication bypass attempts, authorization loopholes, and input validation boundaries all live in the suite.
GitHub Actions runs the full suite in parallel with seeded tenant fixtures-4-minute feedback loop. Snyk and Brakeman block vulnerable merges. Playwright smoke suites cover business-critical UI flows. Our penetration testing methodology extends this test-driven approach into security validation.
AI Integration with Security Controls
Gemini Pro integration wasn't "add AI and ship." We built human-in-the-loop approvals, structured audit trails, and content filtering so AI outputs never leak sensitive data. Task queues capture every AI response, approval decision, and final action with immutable timestamps.
We've seen too many RAG security vulnerabilities . This architecture prevents prompt injection, context bleeding, and unauthorized data exposure before it reaches production users.
Zero Security Findings: Audit Results
Independent security firm re-tested the platform after modernization. Results: zero critical vulnerabilities, zero high-risk findings, OWASP Top 10 compliance verified. Multi-tenant isolation, authentication hardening, and input validation were cited as "enterprise-grade controls."
The audit trail system logs every data access, permission change, and AI interaction with tenant context. Compliance teams get evidence they can hand to regulators. Our AI security services reuse the same patterns across platforms.
Hand-off & Team Enablement
We don't disappear after delivery. Pair-programming sessions taught in-house teams the new service objects, policy scopes, and RSpec factories. Runbooks cover zero-downtime deploys, vulnerability triage, and tenant on-call escalation.
Documentation outlines future roadmap options-billing upgrades, additional AI workflows, data warehouse integrations-while preserving the security model. Our security-first development approach covers the same enablement patterns across the broader platform.
Client Challenge
Venture-backed enterprise SaaS platform running Rails 5.2, serving regulated industries, failed a third-party security audit. Shared schemas, deprecated gems, no test automation, and OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities everywhere.
- Rails 5.2 codebase with legacy gems and deprecated APIs.
- No automated testing-deployments relied on manual QA.
- Multi-tenant data stored without row-level security.
- Security audit flagged OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities and outdated auth flows.
Their compliance team needed the security gaps closed fast. We specialize in Rails security modernization for enterprise platforms, so the engagement focused on shipping OWASP compliance alongside modernization.
OWASP Top 10 Remediation Goals
Foundation hardening
Upgrade to Rails 7.x, replace abandoned gems, implement encrypted credentials, and enforce OWASP Top 10 best practices across the stack.
Multi-tenant security
Implement row-level security, tenant-aware scopes, and audit trails that satisfy enterprise compliance requests.
Introduce automated testing
Build a comprehensive RSpec suite covering API endpoints, multi-tenant workflows, and background jobs so refactors remain safe.
Add AI-enabled workflows
Integrate Gemini-powered assistants that summarize tenant data and respond to support tickets with human-in-the-loop approvals.
Results & ROI
Security & compliance
- Independent auditors closed their report with zero outstanding findings.
- Security questionnaires now reuse the delivered evidence package (threat model, penetration test, control matrix).
- Automated alerting plus SIEM exports reduced incident response time by 35%.
Product velocity & revenue
- Deploy cadence increased 3x thanks to automated tests and rollback plans.
- AI-driven ticket summaries decreased support backlog by 45% in eight weeks.
- Enterprise renewals unlocked because the platform met OWASP, logging, and audit requirements.
OWASP Top 10 Remediation Strategy
- Upgraded to Rails 7.1 with encrypted credentials and eliminated legacy monkey patches.
- Implemented Postgres row-level security with tenant-aware scopes and zero-downtime migrations.
- Hardened authentication with device fingerprints, session rotation, passwordless login, and MFA.
- Parameterization and input validation eliminated injection vectors (Brakeman + Snyk in CI).
- Global security logging + immutable audit trails for every tenant event.
- Snyk scanning and infrastructure config audits ensure components stay patched.
- Environment-specific hardening, secret rotation, and least-privilege IAM.
- Authored 800+ RSpec tests covering controllers, models, policies, jobs, GraphQL, plus Playwright smoke suites.
- GitHub Actions CI runs suites in parallel (4-minute feedback loop) with seeded tenant fixtures and preview deployments.
- Data anonymization scripts provide safe fixtures for regression and security testing.
- Gemini Pro generates onboarding summaries and support recommendations with human approvals.
- Task queues capture AI outputs, approvals, and final actions; events stream to Slack/webhooks.
- Content filtering screens AI responses for PII leakage and policy violations.
Key outcomes
Zero
Security vulnerabilities after independent OWASP audit.
800+
Automated tests spanning API, UI, jobs, and security scenarios.
4x faster
Release cadence improved from quarterly to weekly with CI/CD.
100%
Multi-tenant isolation enforced with RLS and tenant-aware queries.
Need OWASP Top 10 compliance?
We specialize in legacy modernization, multi-tenant security, and AI-enabled SaaS platforms. Our security-first development approach means compliance is built in, not bolted on.
Technologies & artifacts delivered
Rails 7.1, Ruby 3.3, PostgreSQL with RLS, Redis, Sidekiq, ActionCable.
Gemini assistants, Clerk device management, GitHub Actions, Snyk, Brakeman, Playwright.
- Penetration testing report with PoCs and regression scripts.
- Threat model diagrams, tenant data flow maps, and AI workflow runbooks.
- CI/CD pipeline with automated tests, linting, and security gates.
Outcomes
After launch: external pen test closed with zero findings, page performance improved ~25%, and support tickets dropped once AI summaries + regression tests shipped. This is the standard we aim for on every modernization.
Want results like this?
Security-first modernization is how we keep AI platforms believable, auditable, and revenue-ready. If you need to upgrade a legacy stack or build a new AI layer with guardrails, let's map the roadmap together.