Security Architecture, Penetration Testing & PQC Consultancy

Most organisations are not staffed or funded to do security maximally. The work is in deciding what to do well, what to do adequately, and what not to do at all. We bring senior judgement to those decisions, and we stay long enough to live with the consequences.

Whichever security baseline you have already built (NIST CSF, ISO 27001, a CIS-style mapping, or a regional equivalent) is usually a credible starting position for UK or EU operations rather than a finish line. The gap is rarely in the controls themselves; it tends to be in evidencing, governance cadence and how incidents are reported upward.

Where the value sits

Security decisions deserve a position, not a presentation. We bring one.

Architecture that survives five years

Not what is fashionable today. Identity, network, data-protection decisions that hold across regulatory change, leadership change, and through M&A. We design at the boundary between cloud, on-prem and the legacy estate that pre-dates both.

Crypto-agility and PQC migration

NIST FIPS 203, 204 and 205 are standards now. Treating PQC as a project rather than a programme is the common mistake. We tie cryptographic-inventory work into the broader PQC migration roadmap, where it belongs.

Post-incident leadership

When the team is exhausted and every decision is also a political one. Senior cover for the people who will still be there next year. We have stood in those rooms.

Security due diligence for transactions

Findings that actually move the price, not appendix material. We write to be read by the deal team as well as the CISO. Common ground with our due diligence practice.

Board-level security narrative

The story that survives the audit and the regulator at the same time. Translated for whichever audience is in the room without flattening into platitude.

TLPT advisory, not delivery

We do not run threat-led penetration tests; that work belongs with accredited red teams. We help you scope under DORA Article 26, assess internal-tester eligibility, choose the threat-intelligence provider, and read the results politically as well as technically.

We bring a solution, not a menu

Security decisions deserve a solution, not a presentation. The hard calls in this work are judgement calls: which control to trust, which incident to escalate, which legacy system to leave alone for now. They get easier when someone with scars in the right places is willing to sign their name to the answer. We are happy to.

Risk management is how you decide what NOT to do. Not every control deserves the team's bandwidth. We build risk discipline that gives boards and engineers shared language and shared priorities, instead of two parallel conversations that never quite meet.

What is table stakes

Given, not headline: tools deployment, penetration testing across web, network, API, mobile, cloud, and AI/LLM systems, vulnerability management, IAM controls, SOC tooling, SIEM tuning, MDR onboarding, awareness training, encryption and key management, incident response runbooks, business continuity planning. We can oversee or advise on any of it. We do not lead with it.

Our reach extends into operational technology and adjacent estates where standard IT consultancy stops, including building management systems and other industrial control environments, where the work calls for it.

What we deliver

Beyond the positioning above, the specific offerings inside our security practice.

Information security consulting

Security strategy and roadmap, programme design and implementation, policy and standards frameworks, awareness and culture work, incident-response planning and exercises, third-party and supply-chain risk management, governance and reporting structures that boards can actually use.

Strategic security leadership

Senior security expertise without building a permanent function. Programme oversight and direction, board and executive advisory, security due diligence for transactions, regulatory engagement and response, post-incident leadership and recovery, team development and mentoring.

Security architecture

Identity and access management (least privilege, federation, privileged access management, emergency-access procedures), network security (segmentation, security-group design, WAF, DDoS, secure connectivity for hybrid and multi-cloud), encryption and key management (at rest, in transit, key architectures, secrets management, cryptographic control frameworks), detection and response (monitoring architecture, log aggregation, SIEM integration, alerting and response procedures).

Penetration testing

Web application (OWASP Top 10, business logic, authentication and session, API security), network (external and internal, attack-path identification, privilege escalation), cloud and infrastructure configuration review across the major providers and on-prem and hybrid environments, API security (REST, GraphQL, injection, data exposure, business logic), mobile (iOS and Android, local storage, network, binary protections, backend), AI and LLM systems (prompt injection, data leakage, model manipulation, GenAI integration vulnerabilities).

Selected Project Examples

Every security engagement is shaped by the specific risks, constraints, and culture of each organisation. Here's how we've helped clients address their challenges.

Fintech Architecture Review

"As-is" and "to-be" security architecture review of financial decision services for a regulated fintech company.

Multiple cloud-based services assessment
User provisioning flow analysis
Application services and API security
Business continuity readiness evaluation

Outcome: Identified critical gaps in disaster recovery, remediation roadmap enabled Series B due diligence approval.

Zero Trust Implementation

Strategic review and action plan for Zero Trust architecture adoption across a mid-sized organisation.

Systems architecture assessment
Policy definition framework
Identity and endpoint strategy
Network segmentation planning

Outcome: Phased implementation plan delivered, 60% of high-priority controls implemented within 6 months.

Energy CRM Security Design

Security architecture design for a fault-tolerant CRM solution serving an energy supplier with regulatory obligations.

OFGEM regulatory compliance
GDPR and PCI DSS requirements
Single Sign-On integration
Data migration security controls

Outcome: Passed regulatory audit on first attempt, system handling 500,000+ customer records securely.

Gaming Call Centre VDI

Secure remote desktop deployment for a call centre in the gaming industry, enabling secure distributed operations.

Fully managed cloud VDI solution
Active Directory with MFA
Firewall and content filtering
Cloud telephony integration

Outcome: 200 agents operational within 3 weeks, zero security incidents since deployment.

Hotel Chain Endpoint Protection

Migration of approximately 700 endpoints to McAfee ePO with enterprise protection suite for a hotel chain.

Upgraded security infrastructure
Protection policy configuration
Staged deployment process
Full documentation and handover

Outcome: 100% endpoint coverage achieved, 95% reduction in malware incidents, streamlined security operations.

Financial Startup SOC

Design, configuration and support for multi-cloud SOC solution serving a financial services startup.

Risk assessment and service criticality
Centralised logging and monitoring
SOC playbook development
Managed detection and response

Outcome: Mean time to detect reduced from hours to minutes, regulatory-compliant monitoring in place for FCA requirements.

Our Boutique Approach

Security isn't one-size-fits-all. We tailor our approach to your risk profile, industry requirements, and organisational culture.

Risk-Based Prioritisation

We focus resources on the risks that matter most to your organisation, not generic checklists that waste time and budget.

Actionable Reporting

Our findings come with clear remediation guidance, prioritised by risk and effort. No 200-page reports that gather dust.

Measurable Outcomes

Every engagement includes defined success criteria. We track progress and demonstrate value, not just activity.

Knowledge Transfer

We build your team's capabilities alongside delivering solutions. You're not dependent on us - you're empowered to maintain and extend what we build together.

Security Services