Pass first time with hands‑on support for the 2026 requirements - MFA, cloud devices, and 14‑day patching. Clear fixes, fast turnaround.
Practical ISMS implementation that’s audit‑ready and fits how you work. No unnecessary paperwork - just controls, evidence, and a plan that gets you certified.
Independent review of your AI tools, data handling, and governance. Understand what is in use, what the exposure looks like, and what needs to change.

















I’m Paul Reynolds, I specialise in helping businesses in regulated industries – FinTech, Financial Advisors, Accountancy, HealthTech, Legal, as well as having extensive experience in retail, charitable trusts, outsourcing, hosting, banking, and local and central Government.
I am a security consultant and risk assessor, enterprise, solution, and security architect, ISO27001 specialist, and penetration tester. I have built National Technology Award-nominated applications, and I was part of the BCS Public Sector Project of the Year winning team.
I have been awarded Fellowship of the British Computing Society, as well as being a Chartered IT Professional, a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), CSTM Pen Tester (CTM eligible), and TOGAF certified architect. I hold cloud certifications with Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure (x12), and provide cloud security consultant services to help organisations design, secure, and manage modern cloud environments. I am also a published author.
I provide IASME Cyber Essentials, Cyber Essentials Plus, and Assurance Assessments via YDC, and I am an assessor for the British Computing Society as well as a Principal Cyber Security Professional for the UK Cyber Security Council. AI security and architecture work is delivered through Black Chili, my specialist consultancy in that space.
Academic: MSc, BA, DipLCM, ALCM
Management: FBCS CITP, MCMI CMgr, MCIIS
Security: CISSP, CSTM, PriCSP
Cloud: Azure x12, AWS, GCP
Real reviews demonstrating my expertise in securing organisations and protecting sensitive data across multiple industries.
We had an element of complacency in our cyber security policies. We decided to embark on the CE+ journey in preparation for potentially becoming accredited for ISO27001 in the near future. We underestimated the vulnerabilities that existed on our set up. Paul helped us through each one to deploy policies that would solve the issue not only for the certification but ongoing for the future. Paul is extremely knowledgeable and takes a very proactive approach. We look forward to working with him again in the future.
Paul is technically brilliant, the best CTO I’ve worked with. Incredibly knowledgeable and strategically knows exactly what is required for an organisation. Paul is so adept at understanding the nuances and needs of a business quickly. Great to work with and a confident decision maker. I’ve worked with Paul on some very demanding programmes with complex customer organisations and it is always genuinely a pleasure; we just were always able to get things done!
Paul has built an outstanding reputation for security, not only through an in-depth understanding of the latest technologies and trends but also in the ability to deliver solutions that ensure robust protection for organisations, often in highly complex and regulated environments. What truly sets Paul apart is the genuine care and commitment to creating long-term value for clients.
I have had the pleasure of by working with Paul over the last 10 years. I have found him to be one of the best technical Security Solution architects with brilliant understanding on how security is applicable to a business. He was my go to guy for whenever I needed help and guidance on my designs that I was producing. His experience especially around the governance and security best practices were invaluable to me personally.
I have had the pleasure of working with Paul on a number of projects over the past few years. Paul's knowledge seems to be boundless, his ability to take on new technology and quickly come up to speed and become an authority is a skill not held by many. He builds great relationships at all levels in an organisation and is comfortable working with people at the sharp end of delivery rolling up his sleeves or presenting the 30,000 foot view to senior members.
Paul has a wealth of experience across a number of technical domains and a keen eye for detail. He really demonstrated these traits when he supported me in the technical governance area of the programme. I inherited a very complex and unmanageable governance function and with Paul's assistance, I was able to turn it into an efficient and scalable function capable of supporting the demanding needs of the programme.
Paul was highly supportive and that combined with his wide technical and practical knowledge of IT and his familiarity and understanding of IT processes made him a key and valuable member of the project team. He is personable and able to easily work with others at all levels and despite working on other projects concurrently has always been responsive and there when needed.
Hugely competent technically, Paul has an extremely broad range of knowledge and goes out of his way to diligently research, and quickly become expert in, any gaps he identifies or new technologies that interest him. I am constantly impressed by his desire and motivation to keep learning. Paul is a trusted advisor to peers and senior management alike.
Paul is a very professional, knowledgeable, approachable and skilled individual, with a clear wealth of experience in the role and sector. He communicates clearly, builds good working relations, is proactive, motivated and ever positive and calm, even in challenging situations. Having someone such as Paul to work with, with his strong leadership qualities, calm manner and deep technical knowledge base (in cloud, especially) was/is tremendously valuable, and he was ultimately instrumental in many of our successes.
I've worked with Paul over several years and on several projects. Always found Paul to be insightful, technically astute whilst also working to provide the customer with the desired outcome. A good sounding board to bounce off ideas and someone that will give you straight answers. I'd welcome the opportunity to work with Paul again, he'd be a massive asset to any team.
I have found Paul to be extremely knowledgeable in technical areas but also combines that with a pragmatic attitude to build what works for the client. He has a can-do attitude and approaches all projects with enthusiasm to get the job done. It is to his credit that client engagements frequently ask for him.
Paul's technical knowledge is without question one of the highest, and most thorough, I have to this day encountered. As a Project Manager having an Architect like Paul assigned to one of my projects was a massive boost. His ability to communicate with both technical and non technical people alike meant that he was just as much at home in design meetings as he was in customer meetings, which is a massive asset.
Paul is unbelievably clever, pragmatic, honest and witty. His intellect and intelligence have great depth and substance and I'd have him on my IT Delivery team any day of the week as his contributions shape smart decisions and clear project direction. He's a great bloke too.
I had the pleasure of working with Paul on enterprise-wide transformational projects. Paul's aptitude and unquestionable talent throughout the planning, design, and delivery stages was exemplary. Paul can extol the virtues of cloud computing and communicate at all levels. I have no hesitation in recommending Paul.
I've worked with Paul for over 10 years now. He's technically astute, fantastic at solving problems and a great communicator who easily makes complex solutions understandable for non techie stakeholders and colleagues.
The technical assurance that Paul provided was invaluable in helping to manage other technical resources, and I’m sure without his input and assistance then several projects would not have delivered as smoothly as they did. I always had the utmost confidence in Paul, who is also a very personable chap to work with, and would welcome the opportunity to work with him again on other projects & programmes of work.
Paul consistently demonstrates an excellent technical design and engineering capability combined with a proactive, innovative, solution finding attitude – playing a major part in delivering the UK's first .net / blade server based infrastructure solution. Committed and hardworking with a personable and cheerful demeanour.
Very highly skilled technically, always the first to want to learn new technologies or take on more complex tasks. Very able to nurture more junior members of the team and he was a popular guy within his team and across the whole of the function. Very articulate when dealing with the business and senior stakeholders.
Paul is one of a small number of people I have worked with who combine an exceptional technical capability with a no-nonsense approach. His explanations come in plain English and he always delivers what he says he will, when he said he would. I look forward to working with him again, and would recommend him to anyone who wants to get the job done right first time.
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If you are looking for senior security support without the overhead of a big consultancy, get in touch. ISO 27001, AI assurance, and Cyber Essentials are the natural starting points.
YDC & Black Chili
UK
Large firms often pitch with senior partners but deliver through junior staff. With me, you get direct access to a Principal Architect with 25 years of experience across regulated industries and central government. No account managers, no handoffs, just senior advice focused on your actual risk.
A pen tester finds technical vulnerabilities and attempts to exploit them. It is a point-in-time snapshot. As a consultant, I look at the broader picture: governance, architecture, risk, and strategy. The goal is a long-term security posture, not just a list of bugs to fix.
Yes. I have led security architecture across major government programmes and worked in critical national infrastructure environments where the stakes are not theoretical. I also work regularly in FinTech, Legal, and HealthTech where compliance obligations and data risk are a constant pressure.
No. The point is a security framework that actually works, not one that satisfies an auditor and then sits in a drawer. I focus on controls that fit how your organisation operates, evidence that is maintainable, and a process that gets you certified without creating unnecessary overhead.
Yes. Most organisations are adopting AI faster than their governance has kept up. Through Black Chili, I offer a structured AI Health Check that maps what is actually in use, what data it touches, and where the gaps are, followed by a governance framework to close them. The natural starting point is the Health Check.