Bracknell, England, United Kingdom
People hire me because they need security issues fixed, unblocked or realised quickly, securely and pragmatically. I am a distinguished Cyber Security professional with extensive expertise as a CISO, Lead Security Architect, and Security Lead across Government, Defence, and Enterprise sectors. I excel at applying my exceptional technical depth into translating complex security concepts into clear business cases for executive boards and technical teams. I provide leadership that equips teams with strategy, training and tools to embed secure-by-design principles organization-wide. • BSc(Hons)2.i Computer Science, University of Kent at Canterbury, Graduate Diploma in Law (2014 University of Law), Lord Cunningham Award (Middle Temple Inn) • Professional Member of the British Computer Society (MBCS) - 9906622556 • Expired Qualifications - CLAS, ITPC, CCNA, CCDA, CCNP, CCDP, MCP Server, CCSE, CCSA, CCP Senior SIRA & Senior IA Architect, HMG Accreditor • In progress – CISSP, Chartered Cyber Security Professional Key Skills. Security Architecture & Technical Design: AI (LLM models), Cloud solutions (AWS, Azure, Hybrid,/Multi VCF), Cross Domain Gateways, Data Centres, DevSecOps, Diodes, Cross Domain and Hight Threat Gateways, Endpoint protection, Firewalls, IDAM, IDS/IPS, LAN, PKI, Protective Monitoring, Proxies, SAN, SAP (ERP, S4/HANA, MDG, GRC, BW, Treasury), SATCOM, Scripting, Secure Networks, SIEM, SOC, Video, Virtualisation (VMWare VCF), Unix (Ubuntu, RHEL), WAN, Windows Information Assurance: Accreditation, Assurance, Auditing and compliance, CAS(T), CIS standards, CLAS, Cloud Assessment Frameworks, Cryptography, Data Loss Prevention, Data Sovereignty, GCHQ, HMG Guidance (RMADS, IAS1/2, Security Policy Framework (SPF), Good Practice Guide’s, CAF, SbD), ISO27001/2, ISO27005, ITHC (planning, remediation), JSP440/480/604, MITRE, NCSC, NIST, OWASP, Physical security, PSN, Security Incident Management, SOC2, TEMPEST, T1-T3 working practices and pattern publication. Delivery & Leadership: Agile, Bid work, Budgeting, Change management, Customer Contract negotiations and evaluation, Delay notices, Governance, Delegated authority from C-level, Project Management, Requirements Gathering, Service Level Reviews, Setup of Secure Operations Centres, Stakeholder management, Strategy and roadmap setting, Team Leadership (teams of 3-16 people, usually highly technical or senior architects), Third party management, Writing and delivery of policy and training courses.
Lead Security Architect | Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) Services (Jan 2024 – Present) Leading security architecture across multiple HMG Tiers, working directly with SIRO, CTO, and CISO on critical security strategy. Authored standards and protocols for the ‘Secure Working Above Tier 1’ initiative, adopted as the template for 100+ government departments transitioning to secure services. I develop security solutions for Defence Intelligence, UKSV, UKNACE, leveraging NCSC, GCHQ, CIS, and NIST frameworks. CISO | Through Technology (May 2020 – Jun 2024) Led security operations for 25-person HMG services company. Managed G-Cloud and DALAS frameworks, serving as primary security contact for Cabinet Office, MoJ, HMCTS, and Prisons. Successfully implemented ISO27001, achieving certification in August 2021 with perfect compliance maintained since. Managed budgets, vetting processes, and security incidents while delivering cloud security education. Security Lead/Architect | MoJ/HMCTS (May 2020 – Dec 2023) Provided security assurance for legacy decommissioning and cloud migration projects. Led secure system migrations and commissioned Law Enforcement Community Network (LECN) replacing PSN. Implemented Azure-based Archive360 solution for 600TB dataset, utilizing CosmosDB, Kubernetes, and Microsoft Sentinel. Enhanced vendor’s global DevOps security practices. Security Lead | MoD CyDR (Jun 2021 – Mar 2022) Led security review of UK Military Air Traffic Control System, audited Tier 2/3 classified aerial combat capabilities, reporting to 3-star MOD General. Delivered assessments using CIS Top 20 controls, bridging requirements between Accreditation teams and SACs. Previous Experience: CISO Advisory (Brands2Life, Cyted), FCOS Security Lead (Tier 2/3 operations), Security Director (Fujitsu OneERP global transformation), Lead SOC Architect (National Crime Agency), CISO/SIRO (6point6 Cloud Gateway—PSN/HSCN accreditation).
Co-Founder of next generation SOC services.
Security Architect for LAA & FITS Programme
Undertaking my BPTC studies part-time after being award a scholarship from Middle Temple - the Lord Cunningham Award.
Providing IA advice on a multiple customer system at R and MOD work at higher classifications
Performing Information Assurance (IA) for a company who is new to Government work and has won a large contract to design and deliver the next generation of core MPLS network for a major List X supplier to the UK govt. I dealt with all security matters and liaised with their List X client and CTAS (NCC).
Providing Information Assurance guidance to a new system being implemented for at the Home Office at multiple locations. My work is mainly on identifying and mitigating the risks that arise. Liaison with the Accreditor to ensure that they are happy with the measures implemented.