"Bishop Fox's work gave us confidence that we had hardened our system against real-world attacks. The team was responsive and efficient, and their findings were clear and actionable. They worked around our development schedule, making the entire process smooth and valuable." – Andy Chou, CEO, Ventrilo.ai

Customer Overview

Ventrilo.ai developed a sophisticated AI writing assistant that generates real-time, personalized suggestions for users across their work – emails, browser tabs, LinkedIn threads, and more. The platform gathers relevant context from the browser to help its customers write faster and more effectively while maintaining strict privacy standards.

As a Chrome extension that accesses sensitive user content, security is paramount to Ventrilo.ai's promise of privacy and data protection. The company's commitment to security goes beyond compliance; it is fundamental to both user trust and their business model.

"Our product is designed to understand what users are working on across different platforms and provide intelligent writing assistance without compromising security. Since we're serving sales professionals, recruiters, students, and others working with sensitive information, security had to be at the foundation of everything we built." – Andy Chou, CEO, Ventrilo.ai

The Challenge

As Ventrilo.ai prepared to bring its context-aware AI writing assistant to market, the team prioritized a comprehensive security validation to proactively identify and mitigate vulnerabilities that could impact platform integrity, user trust, and operational resilience. Because their Chrome extension accesses users' browser content, which likely contains sensitive or confidential information, security couldn't be an afterthought.

The company faced several specific security challenges:

• Protecting User Privacy and Data Integrity: Ensure that systems are designed to handle sensitive information according to industry standards such as SOC2 and GDPR
• Securing the Chrome Extension: Prevent the browser extension from being compromised if the user visits malicious sites
• Safeguarding Backend Systems: Protect APIs and infrastructure from attacks
• Defending AI Resources: Prevent theft of valuable AI tokens and GPU resources

"We wanted to prioritize building in security and privacy from the beginning," says Chou. "Users of AI products are increasingly aware of the importance of how their sensitive data is being treated, so we needed to know our security was solid before launching to the public."

As a startup with limited resources and tight timelines, Ventrilo.ai sought a security partner who could work efficiently within their development schedule while providing a comprehensive assessment of their unique application.

The Solution

Ventrilo.ai selected Bishop Fox for application penetration testing and an exploratory AI/ML security assessment based on strong recommendations from Chou's professional network in the security industry. Bishop Fox's reputation for technical expertise and ability to understand client needs made them the ideal partner for this critical pre-launch assessment.

"I've been in the security industry for a long time and know many people," Chou explains. "When I asked around, Bishop Fox was consistently recommended."

The Bishop Fox team implemented a comprehensive security engagement focused on real-world attack scenarios, working collaboratively with Ventrilo's development team throughout the process.

GOALS OF ENGAGEMENT:

• Assess API services for susceptibility to direct and indirect prompt injection
• Ensure input validation and output sanitization are properly implemented
• Test for authentication and authorization vulnerabilities
• Identify any sensitive information disclosure and session management issues

"What impressed me was how they worked in parallel with our ongoing development," says Chou. "They didn't slow us down but still managed to provide thorough testing of our systems."

The engagement culminated in clear, actionable reporting of discovered issues with vulnerabilities prioritized by risk. A technical handoff meeting facilitated direct communication between Bishop Fox's security experts and Ventrilo's engineering team.

"The handoff meeting was particularly valuable. Our engineers got to talk directly with Bishop Fox's technical team about the issues they found. This direct communication helped us understand and fix the problems quickly." – Andy Chou, CEO, Ventrilo.ai

The Results

Bishop Fox's security assessment delivered substantial benefits to Ventrilo.ai, enabling them to launch their product with confidence in its security posture.

The engagement provided:

• Enhanced Security Controls: 
  • The assessment identified and helped improve security controls at the infrastructure and code level before they could impact users.
  • "Bishop Fox brought a valuable external perspective, identifying nuanced issues that are often challenging to see from an internal development standpoint. Their insights were a perfect complement to our own security efforts," Chou admits. "Some of the suggestions highlighted concerns we were aware of but hadn’t fully triaged, so having that assessment allowed us to prioritize and fix issues in advance."

• On-Time Product Launch
  • Despite the comprehensive security assessment, Ventrilo.ai was able to maintain their launch schedule, avoiding costly delays while ensuring robust security.
  • "We launched on schedule and with confidence that we weren't going to have any embarrassing security issues right out of the gate," Chou shares. "That peace of mind was invaluable for our team."

• Long-Term Security Mindset
  • Beyond specific findings, the engagement instilled an attacker's perspective in Ventrilo's development team, creating lasting value for their security practices.
  • "That mindset continues to influence how we approach development, which is perhaps the most lasting value from the engagement," reflects Chou.

IMPACT SNAPSHOT

• Critical vulnerabilities identified and remediated before launch
• Enhanced protection of sensitive user data
• Secured Chrome extension against potential exploitation
• Protected valuable AI resources from unauthorized access
• Established foundation for ongoing security practices

"Bishop Fox took the time to understand our architecture and target users. They weren't just checking boxes, they were thinking about our specific context and what would actually matter to us." – Andy Chou, CEO, Ventrilo.ai

Conclusion

AI-driven tools, especially those that access sensitive user data, must be built with security in mind. For Ventrilo.ai, Bishop Fox's AI application security assessment provided the confidence needed to launch a powerful AI writing assistant that users can trust.

The proactive approach to security testing allowed Ventrilo to identify and fix potential vulnerabilities before they affected users, ensuring a secure platform that delivers on its promise of privacy and data protection. This foundation of security enables Ventrilo to continue their focus on innovation while maintaining user trust.

"Looking back, Bishop Fox was a great partner in our launch preparation," Chou concludes. "Their work not only strengthened our security posture but also helped us build a more security-conscious culture within our company."

As Ventrilo.ai continues to expand their AI capabilities and reach more users, they plan to maintain their partnership with Bishop Fox, ensuring their security posture evolves alongside their product offerings.