Professional Security Services & Consultants

Analysis of professional security services, retainers, and consulting firms used in enterprise Cursor deployments.

Table of contents

1. Overview
   1. Service Categories
2. Why Professional Services Matter
   1. Limitations of Automated Tools
   2. Integrated Security Model
3. Service Providers
   1. 1. Incident Response Retainers
   2. 2. Penetration Testing
   3. 3. Red Team Assessments
   4. 4. Security Consulting
4. Service Timing Strategy
   1. Customer’s Multi-Year Approach
5. Retainer vs. On-Demand Services
   1. Incident Response Retainer Benefits
6. Integration with Cursor Security
   1. Pentesting Cursor + Azure AI Foundry
   2. Red Team Scenarios
7. Cost-Benefit Analysis
   1. Professional Services Budget
8. Service Provider Comparison
9. Next Steps

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Overview

While security tools provide automated protection, professional security services offer human expertise for penetration testing, incident response, red team assessments, and security consulting. This section documents the professional services ecosystem used by enterprise organizations deploying Cursor.

Service Categories

Category	Purpose	Frequency	Examples
Incident Response Retainer	24/7 breach response	On-demand	Mandiant, CrowdStrike Services
Penetration Testing	Identify vulnerabilities	Quarterly/Annual	Mandiant, Black Hills InfoSec
Red Team Assessments	Adversarial simulation	Annual	Ernst & Young, Big 4 firms
Security Consulting	Architecture review, compliance	Project-based	Big 4, boutique firms
Threat Intelligence	Custom threat research	Ongoing	Mandiant, Recorded Future

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Why Professional Services Matter

Limitations of Automated Tools

What Tools Can’t Do:

• ❌ Simulate sophisticated attackers
• ❌ Provide strategic security advice
• ❌ Conduct physical security testing
• ❌ Lead incident response coordination
• ❌ Offer expert testimony in breaches
• ❌ Provide industry-specific guidance

What Humans Provide:

• ✅ Creative attack scenarios
• ✅ Business context and risk prioritization
• ✅ Compliance expertise and audit support
• ✅ Incident response coordination
• ✅ Executive communication
• ✅ Custom threat intelligence

Integrated Security Model

graph TB
    subgraph "Automated Protection (Tools)"
        A[Wiz]
        B[CrowdStrike]
        C[Purview DLP]
        D[Chronicle]
    end
    
    subgraph "Human Expertise (Services)"
        E[Mandiant Retainer]
        F[Black Hills Pentesting]
        G[EY Red Team]
        H[Security Consulting]
    end
    
    subgraph "Combined Defense"
        I[Proactive Defense]
        J[Reactive Response]
        K[Continuous Improvement]
    end
    
    A --> I
    B --> I
    C --> I
    E --> I
    F --> I
    
    D --> J
    E --> J
    G --> J
    
    I --> K
    J --> K
    F --> K
    G --> K
    H --> K
    
    style E fill:#dc2626,stroke:#991b1b,color:#fff
    style F fill:#7c3aed,stroke:#5b21b6,color:#fff
    style G fill:#0066cc,stroke:#003d7a,color:#fff

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Service Providers

1. Incident Response Retainers

Mandiant (Google Cloud) - Elite incident response and threat intelligence

• Purpose: 24/7 breach response retainer
• When: Data breach, ransomware, nation-state attacks
• Value: World-class IR team, threat intelligence

2. Penetration Testing

Black Hills Information Security - Offensive security specialists

• Purpose: Quarterly penetration testing
• Focus: Real-world attack simulation
• Value: Practical, business-focused findings

3. Red Team Assessments

Ernst & Young (EY) Cybersecurity - Big 4 security consulting

• Purpose: 5th year comprehensive red team assessment
• Focus: Multi-vector attack simulation
• Value: Executive reporting, regulatory credibility

4. Security Consulting

Big 4 Firms - Strategic security advisory

• Deloitte, PwC, KPMG, EY
• Compliance, architecture, risk management

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Service Timing Strategy

Customer’s Multi-Year Approach

Year 1-4: Internal + Mandiant Retainer
├── Quarterly: Internal security team pentests
├── Annual: Mandiant targeted assessment
└── On-demand: Mandiant IR retainer (if breach)

Year 5: Comprehensive Red Team
├── Q1-Q2: Ernst & Young red team engagement
├── Q3: Remediation of findings
└── Q4: Re-test and validation

Year 6+: Repeat cycle
├── Continue Mandiant retainer (always active)
├── Rotate red team providers
└── Annual pentesting

Why Year 5 for Major Red Team?
✅ Demonstrates due diligence to auditors
✅ Fresh perspective from external team
✅ Comprehensive multi-vector testing
✅ Executive-level reporting
✅ Regulatory expectation (especially insurance sector)

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Retainer vs. On-Demand Services

Incident Response Retainer Benefits

Mandiant Retainer Model:

retainer_agreement:
  type: "Incident Response Retainer"
  duration: 12 months
  
  included_services:
    - 24/7 hotline access
    - guaranteed response time: 2 hours
    - dedicated incident response team
    - threat intelligence briefings: quarterly
    - tabletop exercises: annual
    - breach readiness assessment
  
  pricing:
    retainer_fee: $100K-300K/year
    incident_response: $300-500/hour (discounted)
    expenses: reimbursable
  
  value:
    - immediate expert help when needed
    - faster response (vs finding vendor during crisis)
    - relationship with team (context on your environment)
    - lower hourly rates
    - priority scheduling

Cost Comparison:

Scenario: Major data breach

Without Retainer:
├── Find IR firm: 24-48 hours
├── Onboarding: 4-8 hours
├── Hourly rate: $500-800/hour
├── Total hours: 500 hours
├── Total cost: $250K-400K
└── Time to containment: 72+ hours

With Mandiant Retainer:
├── Activate retainer: <2 hours
├── Team familiar with environment
├── Hourly rate: $300-400/hour (discounted)
├── Total hours: 400 hours (more efficient)
├── Total cost: $120K-160K + $150K retainer = $270K-310K
└── Time to containment: 24-48 hours

Benefit:
✅ Faster response = less damage
✅ Lower total cost (if breach occurs)
✅ Better outcome (experienced team)
✅ Compliance benefit (shows preparedness)

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Integration with Cursor Security

Pentesting Cursor + Azure AI Foundry

In-Scope for Penetration Tests:

Cursor Environment Testing Scope:
├── External Attack Surface
│   ├── Azure OpenAI public endpoints (if any)
│   ├── Azure Key Vault public access
│   ├── DNS reconnaissance
│   └── SSL/TLS configuration
│
├── Internal Network
│   ├── Private endpoint security
│   ├── VNet segmentation
│   ├── NSG effectiveness
│   └── Azure Firewall bypasses
│
├── Application Security
│   ├── Cursor IDE client security
│   ├── API authentication weaknesses
│   ├── Token management
│   └── Session handling
│
├── Identity & Access
│   ├── Okta MFA bypass attempts
│   ├── Azure AD privilege escalation
│   ├── RBAC misconfigurations
│   └── Service principal security
│
└── Data Protection
    ├── Secret exposure (logs, errors)
    ├── API key leakage
    ├── Data exfiltration paths
    └── Backup security

Red Team Scenarios

EY 5th Year Red Team Focus Areas:

## Scenario 1: Compromised Developer Workstation

Objective: Steal Azure OpenAI API keys and customer data

Attack Chain:
1. Phishing email to developer
2. Malware installation (bypass CrowdStrike)
3. Credential harvesting (bypass Okta MFA)
4. Lateral movement to Azure
5. Key Vault secret theft
6. Data exfiltration via Cursor

Defenses Tested:
- CrowdStrike EDR effectiveness
- Okta adaptive authentication
- Azure Key Vault RBAC
- Purview DLP blocking
- Network segmentation
- SIEM detection (Chronicle/Splunk)

## Scenario 2: Supply Chain Attack

Objective: Compromise Cursor environment via malicious dependency

Attack Chain:
1. Publish malicious npm package
2. Developer installs (bypass Veracode SCA)
3. Package steals environment variables
4. Exfiltrate Azure credentials
5. Pivot to production Azure OpenAI

Defenses Tested:
- Veracode SCA scanning
- npm audit effectiveness
- CrowdStrike script execution monitoring
- Network egress controls
- API rate limiting

## Scenario 3: Insider Threat

Objective: Authorized user steals data

Attack Chain:
1. Disgruntled employee with valid access
2. Bulk download of source code
3. Copy API keys from Key Vault
4. Exfiltrate via encrypted channel
5. Cover tracks

Defenses Tested:
- Insider Risk Management (Purview)
- CrowdStrike data exfiltration detection
- Purview DLP USB blocking
- SIEM behavioral analytics
- Key Vault audit logging

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Cost-Benefit Analysis

Professional Services Budget

Typical Enterprise Allocation:

Security Services Budget (Annual):
├── Incident Response Retainer: $150K
│   └── Mandiant 24/7 retainer
│
├── Penetration Testing: $120K
│   ├── Q1: Network pentest ($30K)
│   ├── Q2: Web app pentest ($30K)
│   ├── Q3: Cloud infrastructure ($30K)
│   └── Q4: Red team lite ($30K)
│
├── Red Team Assessment (Year 5): $200K
│   └── EY comprehensive red team
│
├── Compliance Consulting: $80K
│   ├── SOC 2 audit support
│   ├── HIPAA gap assessment
│   └── PCI-DSS validation
│
└── Ad-Hoc Consulting: $50K
    └── Architecture reviews, incident support

Total: $600K/year (1% of security budget)

ROI:
├── Prevent 1 breach: $4M saved
├── Insurance premium reduction: $50K/year
├── Compliance efficiency: $100K/year
└── Net benefit: 7x ROI

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Service Provider Comparison

Provider	Strength	Best For	Cost Range
Mandiant	Elite IR, nation-state expertise	Critical incidents, APTs	\(\)$
Black Hills	Practical testing, training	Quarterly pentests, SMB	\(-\)$
Ernst & Young	Compliance, board reporting	Annual red team, audits	\(\)
Deloitte	Strategic consulting	Transformation projects	\(\)
CrowdStrike Services	Tool integration, IR	Customers using Falcon	$$$

Legend: $ = <$50K, \(= $50-100K,\)$ = $100-200K, \(\) = $200-500K, \(\)$ = $500K+

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Next Steps

Explore detailed service provider pages:

• Mandiant IR & Threat Intelligence
• Black Hills Information Security
• Ernst & Young Cybersecurity

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Last Updated: October 10, 2025
Status: Research Validated

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Table of contents

• Mandiant IR Services
• Black Hills Information Security
• Ernst & Young Cybersecurity