Secure OT environments. Defensible decisions. Resilient operations.
SC-cleared OT Cyber Security Consultant for critical infrastructure and regulated environments
Industrial environments are increasingly connected to enterprise networks, cloud services, remote support platforms and third-party technology. This creates opportunities for better performance and visibility, but it also introduces new attack paths, ownership questions and operational risks.
I help critical infrastructure and industrial organisations understand those risks, strengthen security architecture and build defensible assurance across Operational Technology, enterprise IT and the boundary between them.
My experience spans nuclear infrastructure, electricity distribution and oil and gas. I combine senior cyber assurance and regulatory knowledge with practical experience in industrial networking, segmentation, security monitoring, vulnerability remediation and incident response.
20+ years' experience · Active SC clearance · Nuclear, electricity and oil & gas · IT/OT convergence · Cyber assurance · Incident resilience
Discuss your OT security requirement
OT security that supports the operational mission
Operational Technology cannot be secured by applying enterprise IT controls without considering operational consequences. Availability, safety, reliability, legacy technology, specialist suppliers and restricted maintenance windows all influence the right security decision.
My role is to connect those perspectives. I work with engineering, operations, architecture, cybersecurity, commercial and supplier teams to identify material risks and define controls that are proportionate, technically credible and operationally achievable.
The objective is not to create security paperwork. It is to provide evidence-based confidence that important risks are understood, responsibilities are clear and improvements can be delivered without compromising the operational mission.
OT cyber security services
OT security assessments and gap analysis
Risk-based assessment of industrial environments, supporting infrastructure, suppliers and proposed changes. Reviews establish the operational context, identify credible threat scenarios and evaluate whether existing controls provide sufficient protection.
Typical outputs include:
- current-state OT security assessment;
- risk and control-gap analysis;
- prioritised findings;
- remediation roadmap;
- ownership and dependency mapping;
- residual-risk statement; and
- decision-ready executive briefing.
IT/OT convergence and boundary assurance
Independent review of how enterprise IT, operational systems, cloud services and third parties connect. This includes the technical boundary and the operating model around it.
Areas of focus include:
- network trust boundaries;
- zones, conduits and DMZ design;
- segmentation and permitted data flows;
- dual-homed devices;
- remote access and supplier support;
- identity and privileged administration;
- logging and boundary monitoring;
- firewall ownership and rule governance; and
- responsibilities across IT, OT and delivery partners.
OT security architecture assurance
Review of industrial security architectures to determine whether they address relevant risks and can be supported throughout the system lifecycle.
Assurance considers:
- architecture principles and security requirements;
- asset criticality and dependencies;
- network segmentation;
- secure administration;
- resilience and recovery;
- monitoring and detection coverage;
- vulnerability-management constraints;
- third-party connectivity; and
- transition from project delivery into operation.
Industrial network security
Security guidance grounded in extensive infrastructure and network experience across critical environments.
Support can cover:
- firewalls, routing and VLAN architecture;
- secure remote connectivity;
- IDS and IPS integration;
- endpoint and application controls;
- centralised logging and SIEM integration;
- contractor and supplier networks;
- temporary industrial connectivity; and
- protection of interfaces between enterprise and operational environments.
OT vulnerability and remediation planning
OT vulnerability management requires more than applying a technical severity score. Treatment must consider exploitability, asset criticality, operational availability, vendor support and the consequences of change.
I help organisations:
- improve OT asset and vulnerability visibility;
- assess technical findings in operational context;
- prioritise remediation;
- define compensating controls;
- assign accountable owners;
- document time-bound risk acceptance; and
- track improvement through assurance evidence.
OT incident response and resilience
Preparation for cyber incidents that could affect industrial operations, critical services or the boundary between IT and OT.
Support can include:
- OT incident-response plan review;
- escalation and decision-path design;
- roles and responsibilities;
- forensic-readiness assessment;
- supplier and retainer integration;
- ransomware and disruption scenarios;
- tabletop exercises;
- recovery planning; and
- lessons-learned and remediation tracking.
Supplier and third-party OT assurance
Industrial environments often depend on specialist manufacturers, integrators, maintainers and remotely connected support providers. Security responsibilities can become unclear across contracts and technical boundaries.
I assess whether suppliers can demonstrate appropriate controls across asset management, remote access, vulnerability treatment, incident notification, security testing, recovery and subcontractor governance.
The result is a proportionate assurance position linked to the actual service and access — not a generic questionnaire exercise.
Framework and regulatory alignment
Security recommendations can be mapped to recognised frameworks and regulatory expectations, including:
- IEC 62443;
- NIST Cybersecurity Framework;
- NCSC Cyber Assessment Framework;
- ISO/IEC 27001;
- Cyber Essentials Plus;
- UK critical-infrastructure expectations; and
- nuclear security and ONR-aligned assurance requirements.
Frameworks provide structure, but the assessment remains driven by operational context and risk.
Relevant sector experience
Nuclear critical infrastructure
Cyber assurance across a major UK nuclear infrastructure programme, working at the intersection of construction delivery, emerging OT requirements and future operational maturity.
Relevant experience includes:
- construction-OT security risk and assurance;
- industrial connectivity and common-network design;
- concrete batching, water, monitoring and supplier-managed systems;
- IT/OT boundary and segmentation decisions;
- security requirements for contracts and suppliers;
- OT asset-inventory assurance;
- cyber incident-response planning; and
- alignment across engineering, operations, digital, commercial and cybersecurity teams.
Electricity critical infrastructure
Led an endpoint-security programme within an OT pre-production environment for a UK electricity distribution organisation.
Delivery included:
- on-premises EDR deployment;
- application-control baselines;
- custom policy and rule development;
- improvement of actionable security visibility;
- HLD and LLD documentation;
- operational handover; and
- mentoring of internal infrastructure teams.
Oil and gas
Delivered security and infrastructure improvements across an international oil and gas environment spanning corporate infrastructure, gas-processing facilities, offshore locations and OT-connected networks.
Relevant outcomes included:
- industrially sensitive WAN and firewall migration;
- network segmentation;
- coordination of changes affecting OT-connected infrastructure;
- EDR, SIEM, IDS/IPS and DNS-security deployment;
- vulnerability and patch-management improvement; and
- hands-on containment and remediation during a live ransomware incident.
How I work
1. Establish the operational context
Understand the service, physical process, critical assets, users, suppliers, dependencies and consequences of disruption.
2. Map architecture and ownership
Identify connections, trust boundaries, data flows and responsibilities. Technical controls are difficult to sustain when nobody clearly owns them.
3. Assess risk and evidence
Evaluate credible threats, vulnerabilities, existing controls and assurance evidence. Distinguish documented intent from controls that can be demonstrated in operation.
4. Prioritise improvements
Create a practical roadmap based on risk reduction, operational constraints, delivery dependencies and available resources.
5. Support delivery and verification
Work with accountable teams to clarify requirements, resolve design issues and verify that agreed actions produce the intended outcome.
6. Communicate the residual risk
Provide leaders with a concise, defensible position: what is protected, what remains exposed, what must happen next and who owns the decision.
Engagements I support
- OT cyber security assessments
- OT and ICS security gap analysis
- IT/OT convergence reviews
- Industrial network security architecture
- OT risk and remediation programmes
- Security assurance for infrastructure projects
- Supplier and remote-access assurance
- OT incident-response and resilience exercises
- Construction-to-operations security transition
- Interim OT Security Lead engagements
- Interim Cyber Assurance Lead engagements
- Independent design and control reviews
Key takeaway
My specialism sits at the intersection of cyber assurance, security architecture and Operational Technology. I assess how industrial systems connect, how they are governed, where security responsibility sits and whether controls are sufficient for the operational risk. I work alongside control-system engineers and operational specialists to ensure that security decisions are technically credible, proportionate and defensible.
Why engage me?
Critical-infrastructure experience
Experience across nuclear, electricity and oil and gas environments where cyber risk, operational resilience and regulatory accountability must be considered together.
Assurance grounded in technical reality
A background spanning network engineering, firewalls, endpoint controls, identity, SIEM, EDR, cloud security, vulnerability remediation and incident response.
Independent and evidence-led
Recommendations are linked to risk, control evidence and accountable decisions — not tool preference or compliance theatre.
Comfortable across organisational boundaries
Able to translate between executives, regulators, security teams, architects, engineers, operators and suppliers.
Active security clearance
Active NSV SC clearance, supporting delivery within sensitive and highly regulated environments.
Typical deliverables
Depending on scope, an engagement may produce:
- OT cyber security assessment report;
- current-state and target-state risk view;
- architecture-assurance findings;
- IT/OT boundary review;
- prioritised remediation roadmap;
- OT security requirements;
- supplier-assurance position;
- risk-treatment and exception register;
- incident-response or recovery playbook;
- executive decision paper; and
- framework-alignment matrix.
Every deliverable is designed to support action and withstand scrutiny.
Frequently asked questions
Discuss your OT security requirement
If you are assessing an industrial environment, connecting IT and OT, preparing for regulatory scrutiny or strengthening the resilience of critical operations, I can help you establish a clear and defensible security position.
Available for contract consultancy, interim leadership, independent assurance and focused architecture or risk reviews.