Outrider Practice
Every open-source ecosystem runs on trust. Trust only holds when security is structural, not reactive.
At Open Source Cowboy Consulting, security is treated as a core operating concern. It is embedded into governance, funding, and contributor systems from the start. The objective is not compliance optics, but durable, resilient ecosystems that can scale without collapsing under risk.
The Outrider Practice exists for ecosystems, foundations, and organizations that have crossed from experimentation into infrastructure. At that point, informal security breaks down. Coordination gaps appear. Responsibility diffuses. Incidents become systemic rather than isolated.
Outrider addresses that reality directly.
It integrates security into how open ecosystems are governed, funded, and operated, aligning technical controls with real decision rights and accountability.
Two Complementary Disciplines
Outrider combines governance-first ecosystem design with data-driven security execution.
Christian Taylor
Designs and operates governance, funding, and program systems that allow open source ecosystems to scale across contributors, vendors, and institutions. His work focuses on authority, accountability, and survivability under real-world pressure.
Aqsa Taylor
Ensures those systems are grounded in measurable, defensible security and risk practices, with visibility across data, infrastructure, and contributor workflows.
Together, they operate at the intersection where open innovation meets secure operations.
Aqsa Taylor — Strategic Advisor, Cybersecurity
Aqsa Taylor is a cybersecurity and AI risk strategist with experience securing complex, distributed environments across enterprise and open ecosystems.
She currently serves as Chief Research Officer at SACR, leading research on AI security, data trust, and hybrid infrastructure.
Previously, she was Senior Director of Product Marketing at Abstract Security, shaping go-to-market strategy in the security analytics space. Before that, she served as Director of Product Management at Gutsy, leading applied security analytics and automation initiatives at scale.
Earlier in her career, Aqsa was Product Lead at Palo Alto Networks (Prisma Cloud / Twistlock), contributing to the growth of one of the most widely adopted cloud-native security platforms.
She is the author of Applied Security Data Strategy and Process Mining: The Security Angle, both recognized for advancing data-driven security operations.
As Strategic Advisor for the Outrider Practice, she ensures every engagement meets rigorous standards for cybersecurity, privacy, and operational assurance.
Security Consulting Services
1. AI and LLM Security Strategy
Design governance and security models for AI systems operating in open or hybrid environments.
This includes risk analysis across data pipelines, model integrity controls, privacy-preserving architectures, and responsible disclosure frameworks.
Outcome: Secure, accountable AI adoption aligned with open-source principles and enterprise-grade assurance.
2. Ecosystem Threat Modeling and Architecture Reviews
Conduct design-level security analysis across multi-repository ecosystems and governance infrastructure.
This includes contributor workflows, privilege boundaries, CI/CD integrity, dependency chains, and governance tooling.
Outcome: A threat model and architecture blueprint aligned to how the ecosystem actually operates.
3. Security Data Strategy and Observability
Design security telemetry and data pipelines that connect governance performance to security posture.
Includes readiness scoring, ecosystem-wide metrics, and integration with governance dashboards.
Outcome: Measurable, real-time visibility into ecosystem risk and resilience.
4. Cloud-Native and Infrastructure Security
Harden AWS, Azure, and GCP environments supporting open development.
Includes infrastructure-as-code audits, identity and secrets management, secure build pipelines, and zero-trust patterns designed for distributed contributors.
Outcome: Repeatable security frameworks that preserve openness without sacrificing control.
5. Security Readiness Audits and Advisory
Provide independent assessments of security posture for open ecosystems, DAOs, and technical foundations.
Includes policy review, operational gap analysis, governance-aligned remediation, and executive or maintainer workshops.
Fractional advisory support is available for long-term alignment as ecosystems evolve.
Outcome: A defensible security posture that scales with governance maturity and ecosystem growth.
Why It Matters
Open source moves fast. Security determines whether it survives.
As ecosystems grow, trust cannot rely on goodwill or informal norms. It must be engineered into governance, funding, and operations.
The Outrider Practice exists to build those systems.
Not to slow ecosystems down, but to ensure they endure.
In open ecosystems, trust is not granted.
It is designed, measured, and maintained.
Open Source Cowboy Consulting 