Fail-closed doctrine: selling tools

Evidence for Fail-closed doctrine: 1. Evidence pack · 2. Answers to buyer questions · 3. Figures & benchmarks · 4. Selling tools · IHVRK kit · Learn it

The evidence is your best sales tool: a buyer can check it without trusting you. Press Copy on any box, fill in the [brackets] and send it, one person at a time.

What to send, and when

When	Send this
First message	A short personal note with the kit page
They reply, "show me"	The live demo on a call, using the script below
"Send it to our engineer"	The kit and the evidence pack
Security review or questionnaire	The answers page. Never upgrade a NO to a YES.
Finance or procurement wants records	The figures page and figures.tsv
Ready to go ahead	The hand-off below. The founder does the contract, price and setup.

Who to approach

Security engineer: Failure modes.

Questions to ask them

Have you tested your tools' failure behaviour?

30-second pitch

Fail-closed doctrine: Fail-closed means: if a check errors, times out, or gives an answer nobody recognises, the action is blocked. Errors never become yes.

We recorded 14 live checks, including 13 attack cases it had to refuse or flag, and every one matched. You can re-run them yourself without an account.

Don't trust us. Check it: https://cainstudio.online/ihvrk-fail-closed.html

First email

Subject: what happens when your AI gate breaks?

Hi [first name],

Most tools let actions through when their own check fails. Ours block. We sent 1,440
malformed requests to test it: https://cainstudio.online/top25-fail-closed-sweep.html

The evidence: We recorded 14 live checks, including 13 attack cases it had to refuse or flag, and every one matched. You can re-run them yourself without an account.
Check it yourself: https://cainstudio.online/ihvrk-fail-closed.html

[your name], working with FIRME AI CORPORATION
[your postal address]
If you'd rather not hear from me again, just say so and I won't write again.

LinkedIn connection note (under 300 characters)

Hi [name], quick question for a security engineer: what do your AI controls do when their own check fails?

One follow-up, three days later (then stop)

Hi [first name], happy to walk through how we tested failure behaviour.

Live demo call script

1. Show the normal case
   Do: Open https://cainstudio.online/top25-fail-closed-lab.html and run: Honest read, brand-new agent
   Say: A reasonable action from a principal with no trust history. Unknown trust is held for a human, not allowed.

2. Now the attack
   Do: Run: Prompt injection in the payload
   Say: The risk stage screens every nested key and value; a hit on an enforcing stage blocks.

3. Now the attack
   Do: Run: Malformed plan
   Say: A plan the checker cannot read is an unanswered check, and an unanswered enforcing check blocks.

4. Let them check you
   Do: Send the kit link and ask them to run python3 verify.py --live on their own computer.
   Say: They don't have to take your word for any of this. That's the point.

5. Say the limit yourself
   Do: Tell them what the kit does not show.
   Say: Say it before they ask. It costs nothing and it earns trust.

When they push back

Doesn't fail-closed annoy users?

Sometimes. For consequential actions, a false stop is far cheaper than a false yes.

Is the latest fix live?

Not yet: it needs the next gateway deploy.

Why should I believe your numbers?

You shouldn't have to. Run the kit on your own computer: https://cainstudio.online/ihvrk-fail-closed.html. It re-sends every request and compares the answers, using no code of ours.

What doesn't it do?

Written down here: https://cainstudio.online/top25-fail-closed-limits.html

Are you SOC 2 or ISO certified?

No, we hold no certification. What we offer instead is evidence you can check yourself.

Has anyone independent tested it?

No third-party audit has been completed. The attack cases in the kit are our own. I'd rather tell you that now.

Who else uses it?

We are an early company. I can show you the product working and the evidence, not a customer list.

It found nothing. So we're safe?

No. It means none of its checks fired. It doesn't prove something is safe.

How much is it?

Use fail-closed to answer "what happens when it breaks?", then sell the offer that fits.

One-page summary (paste into a document or email)

Fail-closed doctrine
by FIRME AI CORPORATION, a California corporation

What it does
Fail-closed means: if a check errors, times out, or gives an answer nobody recognises, the action is blocked. Errors never become yes.

The evidence
We recorded 14 live checks, including 13 attack cases it had to refuse or flag, and every one matched. You can re-run them yourself without an account.
Recorded 2026-11-03. 14 live checks. Median round trip 169 ms including network; this is not a load test or an SLA.

Check it yourself
https://cainstudio.online/ihvrk-fail-closed.html
Zip SHA-256: 6cb4576c7bc7c1d594181ed316b8897461003afc4f300e12ee9f0cf75c45d544
Signing key fingerprint: 1cacdfc1fc2024b6bb4f8fb02c7c80f4a57f44c5adb11c507190781b5d613de3
Run: python3 verify.py --live  (Python 3, no account, no code of ours)

What it does not do
Written down here: https://cainstudio.online/top25-fail-closed-limits.html

What this is not
Not a third-party audit, a certification or a guarantee. No SOC 2 or ISO certification is held.

Contact
[your name], working with FIRME AI CORPORATION, [your email]

After the call: the proposal email

Hi [first name],

Thanks for your time. As discussed, here is what I suggest for Fail-closed doctrine.

What you told me: [their problem, in their words]

What we'd do: Use fail-closed to answer "what happens when it breaks?", then sell the offer that fits.

Evidence you can check before deciding: https://cainstudio.online/ihvrk-fail-closed.html
Answers for your security review: https://cainstudio.online/evidence-fail-closed-answers.html
Figures for your files: https://cainstudio.online/evidence-fail-closed-figures.html
Limits: Written down here: https://cainstudio.online/top25-fail-closed-limits.html

Next step: [date], [who]. The founder, Vincent Noriega, handles contract and setup.

[your name], working with FIRME AI CORPORATION
[your postal address]
If you'd rather not hear from me again, just say so and I won't write again.

Hand-off to the founder

To: vincent@firmeai.com
Subject: Lead: Fail-closed doctrine - [company]

Company: [company]
Person: [name], [job title], [email]
What they said: [paste their reply]
Evidence already sent: https://cainstudio.online/ihvrk-fail-closed.html
Price mentioned: [what you quoted, or none]
Next date: [date]

The rules

Send each message yourself, one person at a time. No bulk lists and no automated sending.
Commercial email needs your real name, a real postal address and a way to opt out, and you stop when someone asks (US CAN-SPAM; many countries are stricter, so check yours).
Never change a number, invent a customer, or say certified, audited or guaranteed.
Only test a system the client owns or operates, after they confirm it in writing.
Your share is agreed in writing with FIRME AI CORPORATION before your first message (email vincent@firmeai.com). Nothing here promises income. Most messages get no reply; that is normal.