Case Study

Scattered Signing. Slow Pipeline. A Financial Firm's Code Signing Unified Across Six Platforms

How CodeSign Secure delivered 2-millisecond HSM-backed signatures, unified code signing across Windows, Apple, Linux, Docker, and firmware, and simplified compliance for a large financial services provider.

Customer Profile

A large financial services provider with a strong focus on data protection and client confidentiality. The firm operates in a highly regulated industry with strict security and compliance requirements.

Industry

Financial Services

Engagement Type

CodeSign Secure Deployment: DevSecOps Integration & Multi-Platform Signing

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At a Glance Outcome

2ms

HSM signature generation, exceeding the 4ms requirement

FIPS 140-2

Level 3 HSM compliance for all private key storage (Entrust, Thales)

Unified

Windows, Apple, Linux, Docker, Container & firmware signing enabled

CA/B

Forum compliance achieved with integrity checks enabled

The Enterprise

Challenges

The firm's code signing practices were fragmented, manual, and insecure. Private keys were poorly protected, developers had no integrated signing tools, timestamping did not exist, and compliance reporting required significant manual effort.

Private code signing keys vulnerable to theft

Improperly protected keys made the organization a target for attackers. Limited revocation mechanisms worsened the threat, as stolen keys could disguise malware as authentic code.

01 Key Security

Manual signing slowed developers

Code signing sat outside DevSecOps workflows. Manual processes slowed the pipeline, put development and security teams at odds, and delayed releases.

02 Productivity

Compliance gaps from manual audit trails

Regulators required signed artifacts as proof of software integrity. Manual processes could not provide the audit trail needed for compliance or detect whether software had been tampered with.

03 Compliance

The firm needed code signing that was fast enough for developers, secure enough for regulators, and comprehensive enough to cover every platform and file type in their environment.

Encryption Consulting

Engagement Summary · Encryption Consulting · CodeSign Secure

Our Offered

Solutions

The team deployed CodeSign Secure to store private keys in FIPS 140-2 HSMs, bring code signing into DevSecOps workflows, meet strict performance targets, log every signing event, and unify signing across all platforms.

Capability 01

HSM Key Protection

Private keys are stored in FIPS 140-2 Level 3 HSMs (Entrust, Thales) and never leave the HSM boundary, which eliminates key theft risk and provides documented assurance.

Capability 02

2ms Signing & DevSecOps

Client-side file hashing with HSM-backed signing achieves 2-millisecond signature generation, well within the 4ms requirement, without requiring special developer tools.

Capability 03

Access Control & Compliance

Teams can set access levels by project type, risk, and source, which simplifies compliance reporting and keeps key management in line with regulatory requirements.

Capability 04

Logging & Timestamping

Every signing event is logged: timestamp, client IP, file hash, signature, and certificate name. This gives teams a clear record for audits and integrity checks.

The result was a single code signing platform covering Windows, Apple, Linux, Docker, Container, and firmware signing, with 2ms HSM-backed signatures, comprehensive audit trails, and CA/B Forum compliance.

Encryption Consulting

Engagement Summary · Encryption Consulting · CodeSign Secure

The Overall

Business Outcome

CodeSign Secure brought the firm's code signing operations onto one secure, high-performance platform that met regulatory, security, and developer productivity needs.

Keys secured, performance exceeded

FIPS 140-2 Level 3 HSMs eliminated key theft risk. At 2ms, signature generation beat the 4ms target, which removed the pipeline bottleneck and freed up developer time.

Six platforms, one signing solution

A single platform now handles Windows, Apple, Linux, Docker, Container Image, and firmware signing. This replaced the fragmented toolset and enabled integrity checks with CA/B Forum compliance.

Compliance streamlined, audit trails built

Access control by project type and risk level, paired with detailed event logging, simplified compliance reporting and strengthened the firm’s security posture. Timestamping keeps signatures valid after certificate expiration.

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