Common Information Security Frameworks and Why They’re Failing Startups

If you’re a startup founder scaling your business with upmarket motion or market expansion, you’ve probably been asked about compliance. However, the infosec frameworks that will make you compliant weren’t built for today’s world. They are static and more suitable for the times we were using servers or following slower release cycles. Here’s a breakdown of five popular frameworks, where they fall short, and what startups really need. 

1. SOC 2 – System and Organization Controls 2

An attestation that demonstrates you’re managing customer data securely and responsibly. Default standard for B2B SaaS deals in North America. 

• Used by: Software companies handling customer data 

• Enforced by: Certified public accountant audits 

• Penalty: No legal repercussions but lack of compliance can stall enterprise sales and fundraising

• Falls short: Audits reports take months to prepare but only give a one-time snapshot. They do not account for iterative deployment / testing or AI usage. Procurements teams think you’re secure, even if your system changes 30 times since compliance checks. 

2. ISO 27001 – International Security Management Standard

A globally used checklist for forming official security programs, mostly used in enterprise procurement. 

• Used by: Startups selling to European or global enterprises

• Enforced by: Accredited third-party audits

• Penalty: No legal repercussions but can block global sales cycles

• Falls short: Built for companies with in-house compliance teams and rigid way of working. ISO is process-focused, often putting startups at a disadvantage for their adaptive pace. It pushes for rigorous documentation that slows down fast-moving teams.

3. HIPAA – Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

A U.S. law that governs how medical data is obtained, retained, accessed, and shared to ensure patient privacy in medical records. 

• Used by: Companies handling healthcare data in the U.S. 

• Enforced by: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

• Penalty: Up to $1.5M fine per violation

• Falls short: HIPAA was intended for hospitals, not modern HealthTech startups. It assumes on-premise servers, physical access, and slow cycles. Startups leveraging encrypted APIs or real-time AI can struggle with compliance since these modern tools are not covered in the rulebook.

4. PCI DSS – Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard

A technical framework designed by leading card issuers to prevent fraud and enforce strict controls for retaining, processing, or transmitting payment data. 

• Used by: Companies processing or storing credit card data 

• Enforced by: Visa, Mastercard, and other card networks  

• Penalty: Fines or withdrawal of ability to process payments 

• Falls short: PCI was intended for merchants with their own payment systems. However, startups often prefer new payment platforms such as Stripe or Braintree. The PCI framework doesn’t factor in this shared risk accountability between startups and payment platforms. Given this reality, compliance becomes a checkbox, not a true reflection of how your payment data is secured.

5. GDPR / CCPA – General Data Protection Regulation and California Consumer Privacy Act

Two major privacy laws that give individuals control over their personal data and how companies get to collect, retain, and share it.

• Used by: Companies with users in the EU or California 

• Enforced by: EU and California state regulators 

• Penalty: Up to €20 million or 4 percent of global revenue (GDPR), and $7,500 per violation (CCPA)

• Falls short: These laws define individuals rights and not how companies should protect those rights. There is not a clear technical playbook, startups often need to navigate ambiguity around cloud data, team access, or AI governance. Startups find themselves gut checking what counts as “responsible” or “secure” enough.

  
  

Why These Frameworks Come Short 

Ironically, startups don’t build like legacy enterprises, but they are expected to secure themselves the same way.

• They slow down agile teams. SOC 2 and ISO were intended for waterfall development, not for lean teams shipping weekly iterations. Given startup’s momentum, the cost and time commitment for these frameworks becomes a drag.

• They only provide a snapshot. You show adherence to these frameworks once, but your system constantly evolves. There is no way to track real-time risk or changes to your product and underlying code.

• They disregard how software is built today. There’s no mention of modern-day development workflows like code-driven infrastructure, developer APIs or temporary testing environments.

• Traditional AI is still a blind stop. Many teams benefit from machine learning to make decisions but there's no guidance on who should own the models, how decisions should be reviewed, or how output should get validated.

• GenAI is a totally new frontier. Everyone is using Gen AI to make their work more efficient whether that is code-writing, content generation or customer interactions. However, there are no clear guardrails around logging usage, assinging ownership or putting humans in the loop for Gen AI output.

DSALTA: Compliance That Moves at Startup Speed 

DSALTA is a community-powered compliance framework that is built for SaaS startups that build, ship, and iterate fast — and with AI governance controls. It gives you the needed credibility without the legwork of legacy frameworks. You get enterprise-ready in hours, not months. Your customers also get real-time visibility on your risk posture instead of a one-off PDF. 

👉 Book a demo now and see how DSALTA helps you stay secure, move faster, and close enterprise deals without bolting your modern stack and scarce resources to outdated frameworks.