VCs and startups are now paying attention to a vital thing they used to ignore

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If a startup wants to get noticed, there's one new important thing they must pay attention to: How secure they are.

In the eyes of tech executives, computer security can no longer be an afterthought. According to The Information, computer security companies are being brought on to advise other companies about startups they are thinking of acquiring, and VCs are including cybersecurity experts as part of their due diligence when they look to invest in companies.

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So if startups want to be noticed, they have to have a proper security posture.

This comes in the wake of a slew of high profile hacks at companies like Snapchat, Sony, and Uber.

Venture firms have even begun including cybersecurity experts as part of their due diligence for companies in which they're considering investing.

In the past, companies would launch their products with security as an afterthought, and maybe start getting secure as they approached an IPO. Security is expensive, complicated, and may be seen as a distraction in the lean startup world, where young companies are supposed to "move fast and break things" (in the words of Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg) and change directions on a dime if their initial plans aren't working out.

The tide is now changing, and there's a growing need to have security baked into a technology company's initial offerings. "The cost to retrofit everything is more costly or maybe even impossible," explained Duo Security CEO Dug Song to The Information. Companies need to say early on how they plan to protect their data.