Serhii Saraichykov, Co-Founder and CTO of A42, spoke at the "Secure Code Development" webinar for founders and tech leaders of Ukrainian startups. The event was organized by the Ukrainian Startup Fund (USF) in partnership with A42 as part of the Win-Win EDIH Ukraine project.
USF programs are designed to support the growth and development of early-stage Ukrainian technology projects. Cybersecurity is an area that founders frequently underestimate. A common mistake is assuming a project is too small to attract hackers, or hoping that modern AI-assisted development eliminates cyber risks.
Such misconceptions can be fatal. Critical vulnerabilities at the launch stage can ruin a young business's reputation before it even gains market traction, while fixing security gaps later in maturity is significantly more expensive.
Furthermore, the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence has not reduced risks. Statistics show that one in five security incidents today involves AI-generated code, and 69% of companies have already detected vulnerabilities in such solutions. For instance, leaked secrets (passwords, access keys, and API tokens) remain one of the biggest threats. In 2025 alone, over 28 million secrets were exposed on GitHub.
This is why cybersecurity must be a routine part of development and deployment processes from day one.
During the webinar, Serhii Saraichykov shared practical approaches to minimizing these risks, even with limited resources and no dedicated internal security team.
Key Secure Development Tips from the A42 Confounder & CTO:
- Take responsibility for your code. Always verify everything AI produces as if you were reviewing a junior colleague's work. You can also leverage specialized AI agents for this verification.
- Inspect third-party components. Thoroughly check all agents and packages downloaded from open sources, as they may contain malicious injections.
- Set clear, security-focused guidelines for AI behavior. Ensure there are zero hardcoded secrets in the code and strictly enforce the principle of least privilege.
- Scan your code using SAST tools before every single deployment.
- Monitor your perimeter. Continuously track your external perimeter to keep tabs on all potential entry points into your infrastructure.
- Run regular penetration tests. Thanks to AI, pentesting is no longer slow or expensive. Ideally, this should also be done before every deployment.
"A42’s mission is to make cybersecurity affordable. We achieve this, in part, by democratizing protection knowledge for those who need it most right now: the state, emerging Ukrainian businesses, and the startup ecosystem as a whole. Security shouldn't be a luxury reserved for large corporations; it must be the foundation of every Ukrainian product from day one," notes Serhii Saraichykov, Co-Founder and CTO of A42.
Not sure where to start securing your digital infrastructure? Book a discovery call with the A42 team. 15 minutes, no obligations.
