Why does the board need independent cyber advice?

Directors are responsible for overseeing the risks that could harm the business, and cyber risk is now one of them. Most boards have no member who has run a security programme. Independent advice gives directors a clear view of exposure, without vendor sales pressure or the optimism that can creep into internal reporting.

What does a board advisory engagement look like?

Usually a cycle that follows your board calendar: a pre-read briefing, attendance at the board or risk committee meeting, and follow-up actions tracked to closure. We also support one-off decisions, such as a major security investment, an acquisition or a review after an incident.

Can you help non-technical directors understand the risk?

That is the core of the service. We translate technical findings into likelihood, business impact and costed options, the three things a director needs to make a decision. No jargon and no scare stories.

What is a tabletop exercise and why should the board take part?

A tabletop exercise walks your directors and senior team through a realistic incident, such as ransomware or a supplier breach, in a meeting room rather than a live system. It shows who decides what, how fast, and with what information. Boards that have rehearsed make better decisions when a real incident happens.

Does this replace our CISO?

No, it supports them. An independent voice can validate your Chief Information Security Officer's programme to the board, which often helps secure the budget and backing internal security teams find hard to win on their own.

Board Advisory Services

Independent cyber security advice for your board. Clear risk reporting, briefings on regulation and director duties, and crisis exercises, so your directors can make and defend decisions.

Our board advisory service gives your directors independent cyber security advice they can act on: clear reporting on risk, briefings on what regulation means for them, and rehearsals for a serious incident. You get a board that can make security decisions with confidence and explain them when regulators, investors or customers ask.

It sits within our strategy and advisory services, the advice, planning and assurance work that helps leadership teams decide where security effort and money should go.

Give your board answers regulators respect

Few boards include anyone who has run a security programme, yet directors are expected to oversee cyber risk like any other business risk. We put an experienced security adviser in front of your directors on a regular rhythm.

No jargon and no fear-selling. Just clear reporting on risk, investment priorities and regulatory exposure, in the language your board already uses.

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The questions your board should be able to answer

What is our actual exposure? A plain-language view of the risks that could stop the business, grounded in your risk management position rather than a generic heat map.
Are we spending on the right things? An independent view of whether your security budget matches the threats you face and the risk you have agreed to accept.
Would we cope with a serious incident? An honest assessment of response readiness, tested through exercises with the people who would make the decisions.
Are we compliant in substance, not just on paper? Whether your governance and framework programmes would hold up under scrutiny from a regulator, auditor or major customer.

What's included

Board-level support that fits how your directors already work:

Board Briefings and Reporting

Cyber risk reported in plain English, with the trend from one meeting to the next and the decisions you need to take.

Risk Appetite

Help agreeing how much cyber risk the business will accept, and a clear signal when that line is crossed.

Regulation and Director Duties

What UK government guidance and rules such as DORA, NIS2 and FCA requirements expect of your board specifically.

Crisis and Tabletop Exercises

Realistic incident scenarios rehearsed with directors, so roles and decisions are clear before a real event.

Who it’s for

Board advisory suits organisations whose directors need to oversee cyber risk but have no security specialist at the table. That includes regulated firms in financial services and insurance, private equity firms and their portfolio company boards, and growing businesses facing their first serious customer or investor due diligence.

It also helps where a security leader is in place but struggles to get the board’s attention. An outside adviser can reframe the same message in commercial terms.

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How we work

Baseline — We review your current risk register, recent reports, audit findings and board papers to understand where you stand and how cyber risk reaches the board today.
Reporting format — We agree a short, consistent report your directors can absorb in minutes, with the measures that matter to your business.
Board cycle — We prepare pre-reads before each meeting, attend the board or risk and audit committee, and track agreed actions to closure.
Exercise — We run a tabletop exercise with directors and senior managers, then report what worked, what did not and what to fix.
Annual review — Once a year we step back, reset priorities and check that your risk appetite still fits the business.

Independent advice, not a sales channel

We sell advice, not products, so our recommendations carry no licence targets or preferred-tool bias. Because we sit outside your reporting lines, we can tell the board what it needs to hear, including when the current programme is underfunded or pointed at the wrong risks.

Talk to our team

Challenge

Independent questions management must answer

Support

Backing for your security lead, not a replacement

Defend

Decisions recorded and reasoned for later scrutiny

Evidence your board can point to

Regulators and auditors increasingly ask how the board oversees cyber risk, not just what controls exist. Our work leaves a record: board papers, minuted decisions, an agreed risk appetite and exercise reports with tracked actions.

We align that work with recognised UK guidance, including the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) Cyber Security Toolkit for Boards and the Cyber Governance Code of Practice from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT). Exercises can draw on the NCSC’s free Exercise in a Box scenarios.

For regulated firms, it supports the individual accountability expected under the FCA’s Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SMCR), and the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), which places ultimate responsibility for ICT risk on the management body. Our FCA and NIS2 pages cover those requirements in more detail.

Board advisory is about oversight: helping directors ask the right questions and make sound decisions. A fractional CxO gives you a part-time security leader who runs the programme day to day and reports to the board. Many organisations use both, with the adviser providing an independent view of the programme the fractional leader runs.

When the board agrees that work needs doing, our cyber security consultancy delivers it as scoped projects. Assurance gives the board independent confirmation that controls are working as reported.

Services that work alongside

The risks your board discusses need testing and tracking. Penetration testing shows whether defences hold up against a real attack, and security posture reviews give a current picture to report against. For acquisitions and investments, technical due diligence gives directors an independent view of a target’s technology and security risk.

Frequently asked questions

Give your board a clear view of cyber risk

Tell us how cyber risk reaches your board today and what your directors keep asking. You get a straight view of the gaps and what an advisory cycle would cover.

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