Cryptography is everywhere in software, protecting data, authenticating users, and securing communications. But it is rarely documented, often inherited from old code, and frequently mixed with custom, in-house implementations. As compliance requirements tighten and the move to post-quantum cryptography (PQC) accelerates, not knowing what cryptography lives in your code has become a real and growing risk.
You cannot protect or migrate what you cannot see; an accurate picture of your cryptographic footprint must therefore begin where cryptography resides, namely within your source code.
What Is the Source Code Sensor?
The Source Code Sensor is one of the core discovery capabilities of Encryption Consulting’s CBOM Secure. It automatically analyzes your source code repositories and identifies how cryptography is used across your applications, then turns those findings into a clear, standardized Cryptographic Bill of Materials (CBOM).
Because the analysis runs directly on your source, there is no need to build, deploy, or execute your applications to gain visibility.
Built for Real-World Codebases
Real codebases are diverse, layered, and rarely tidy. The Source Code Sensor is designed to handle that reality, working across multiple programming languages and recognizing both well-known cryptographic libraries and home-grown crypto that traditional tools tend to miss.
- Broad language coverage, including C and C++, Java, Python, Go, JavaScript and TypeScript, Rust, and C#.
- Detection of both standard library usage and custom, in-house cryptographic implementations.
- Identification of weak, deprecated, and quantum-vulnerable algorithms.
- Clear, contextual findings that show what was detected and where.
- Standardized, machine-readable CBOM output that integrates with the rest of the CBOM Secure platform.
Why Source Code Discovery Matters
Runtime and network scans only catch cryptography that happens to run while you are watching. Reading the source directly goes deeper: it surfaces every algorithm as written, including the code paths that rarely execute, and the libraries quietly pulled in as dependencies. Source code discovery solves problems that other approaches leave open:
- Cryptography is scattered across codebases and almost never fully documented.
- Legacy and forgotten crypto introduce silent, long-lived risk.
- Weak or deprecated algorithms routinely slip past manual code review.
- The post-quantum transition requires a complete inventory of algorithms to plan against.
- Custom, in-house cryptography often evades conventional scanning tools.
What the Source Code Sensor Detects
The sensor builds a rich inventory of the cryptographic assets in use across your applications, mapping each finding to its exact location in the codebase so you can move straight from discovery to remediation without hunting for where a weak algorithm lives:
| Cryptographic Asset | What It Covers |
|---|---|
| Encryption | Symmetric and asymmetric ciphers, along with their modes and key sizes. |
| Hashing & Integrity | Hash functions and message authentication mechanisms. |
| Signatures & Key Exchange | Digital signature and key-agreement schemes. |
| Keys & Randomness | Hardcoded keys, weak parameters, and insecure random sources. |
| Certificates & Protocols | Transport security usage and certificate handling. |
| Post-Quantum Readiness | Quantum-resistant algorithms and quantum-vulnerable ones. |
From Code to a Cryptographic Bill of Materials
The Source Code Sensor does more than flag individual lines of code. Each finding is normalized into our CBOM Secure inventory, where it is classified by type and risk, and combined with discoveries from across your environment, cloud, network, files, and more, to give you a single, unified view of your cryptographic estate.
The result is an accurate, up-to-date CBOM that supports risk management, compliance reporting, and post-quantum migration planning. Because it is regenerated as your code changes, that view stays current instead of drifting out of date the moment a developer ships the next release.
Business Benefits
Cryptographic discovery only matters if it changes what your security teams can do. The Source Code Sensor turns raw findings into outcomes that security, compliance, and engineering leaders can act on, summarized below:
| Benefit | What It Means for You |
|---|---|
| Complete visibility | Know exactly what cryptography exists in your code, and where. |
| Reduced risk | Surface weak, deprecated, and misconfigured cryptography early. |
| PQC readiness | Identify quantum-vulnerable algorithms before they become liabilities. |
| Compliance & audit | Produce clear evidence for standards and regulatory requirements. |
| Faster remediation | Prioritize fixes using clear, contextual, risk-ranked findings. |
Common Use Cases
Teams turn to the Source Code Sensor whenever cryptographic visibility drives a decision, from migration planning to deal due diligence. The most common scenarios include:
- Planning and tracking post-quantum cryptography migration.
- Demonstrating compliance and audit of readiness against industry standards.
- Strengthening security reviews and due diligence during mergers and acquisitions.
- Establishing continuous cryptographic governance across development pipelines.
How Encryption Consulting Can Help
Encryption Consulting’s CBOM Secure gives you the visibility; turning that visibility into measurable risk reduction takes expertise. Encryption Consulting pairs the platform with decades of specialized cryptographic experience, partnering with you across the entire journey, from initial discovery to remediation and long-term crypto-agility.
- Tailored deployment of our CBOM Secure and the Source Code Sensor across your environment.
- Cryptographic assessments that translate raw findings into a prioritized action plan.
- Post-quantum readiness assessments that act on the quantum-vulnerable algorithms the Source Code Sensor finds in your code, with clear, phased migration roadmaps.
- Expert remediation guidance for the weak, deprecated, or misconfigured cryptography the Source Code Sensor surfaces in your source.
- Compliance and audit support that turns Source Code Sensor findings into evidence for standards such as FIPS, PCI DSS, and emerging PQC mandates.
- Implementation services that close the cryptographic gaps the Source Code Sensor uncovers across PKI, key management, HSMs, and data protection.
- Ongoing, managed cryptographic governance that re-scans your source code to keep your codebase continuously quantum-ready.
We focus on what is right for your organization, helping you move from cryptographic uncertainty to confident, auditable control.
Conclusion
Cryptographic visibility is no longer optional. With regulators raising expectations and the quantum era approaching, organizations need to know exactly what cryptography they rely on, and that knowledge starts at the source: your code.
The Source Code Sensor turns sprawling, undocumented codebases into a clear, actionable Cryptographic Bill of Materials, making it a cornerstone of CBOM Secure and a practical first step toward a crypto-agile, quantum-ready future. Combined with Encryption Consulting’s expertise, you gain both the insight to see your cryptographic estate and the guidance to act on it with confidence.
