Navigate complex security frameworks with confidence.
As organisations move more of their operations to the cloud, the security questions change. Is your cloud configured securely? Do your controls meet recognised standards? Where are the gaps? We assess your cloud environment against NIST 800-53 and the NCSC 14 Cloud Security Principles, identify the gaps and risks, and give you a clear, prioritised roadmap to address them.
We use recognised frameworks rather than opinion: NIST 800-53, a comprehensive security controls catalogue, and the NCSC 14 Cloud Security Principles, the UK National Cyber Security Centre's guidance for cloud. This gives you an assessment grounded in established standards.
A clear understanding of how the framework applies to you, where your gaps and vulnerabilities are, and practical guidance on secure cloud configuration. Above all, a prioritised roadmap, so you know what to address first.
Cloud misconfiguration is one of the most common causes of data exposure. Assessing your environment against established standards is how you find and fix those weaknesses before they are exploited.
Cloud providers work on a shared responsibility model. The provider looks after the security of the underlying platform: its data centres, hardware and core services. You remain responsible for how you use that platform, which typically means your user accounts and permissions, how your data is shared and protected, the settings you choose and the devices that connect to it. The exact split varies between software you simply use, such as Microsoft 365, and infrastructure you build on, such as AWS, Azure or Google Cloud, where more of the configuration sits with you. Many problems come from assuming the provider has covered something it has not. A cloud security assessment makes that line clear for your own services, so you know which controls are yours to get right.
Most cloud weaknesses are not sophisticated. They are settings left at their defaults, changed for convenience or never revisited as the organisation grew. Typical examples include storage that can be reached from the internet, sharing links that anyone can open, accounts with far more access than their role needs, administrator accounts without multi factor authentication, older sign in methods that bypass modern protections, and logging that is switched off or never reviewed. Former staff and suppliers sometimes keep access long after they should, and test environments can hold real data behind weaker controls. None of these needs a specialist attacker to exploit, which is exactly why they matter. Our assessment checks for issues like these against recognised principles and explains each one in plain language, with practical guidance on secure configuration.
The two frameworks we use suit different needs. The NCSC 14 Cloud Security Principles come from the UK National Cyber Security Centre and cover the questions every cloud user should be able to answer: how your data is protected in transit and at rest, how customers are kept separate, how the service is governed and operated, how staff and suppliers are vetted, how users are identified and managed, and how you use the service securely. They are a practical, accessible fit for organisations that mainly run on cloud tools. NIST SP 800-53, published by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology, is a much broader catalogue of security and privacy controls grouped into families. It is often expected in highly secure or regulated environments, and some clients ask for it as a supplier requirement. We help you choose the one that matches your obligations.
Our approach is straightforward. First we understand your cloud services, how they are used and the regulatory landscape you operate in. We then assess your settings and controls against the chosen framework, identifying gaps, vulnerabilities and areas to improve. Next we advise, setting out the risks clearly and recommending what to do about each. The centrepiece is a prioritised roadmap: urgent risks and quick wins first, larger changes planned in sensible stages, and every action explained so your IT team or provider can take it forward. Finally we support you in putting it into practice, so the roadmap turns into real improvement rather than a report on a shelf. We work with organisations in Sussex, London and across the UK, and because the work centres on your cloud environments, much of it can be carried out remotely.
We work with organisations across the UK. Much of our work is delivered remotely, so we support clients wherever they are based, with particular strength in London and the Southeast. We are based in Haywards Heath, West Sussex, and the areas we cover include London, Brighton and Hove, Crawley, Horsham, Haywards Heath, Burgess Hill, Worthing, Guildford, Tunbridge Wells, Reading, Slough, Newbury, Swindon and Bristol.
Want to know if this is the right fit for your organisation? We will talk it through with you, with no obligation.
Get in touchNIST 800-53 and cloud security assessments. We assess your controls against NIST 800-53 and the NCSC 14 Cloud Security Principles, identify gaps and risks, and give you a clear, prioritised roadmap.
Book a consultation and we will tailor this service to your organisation and the risks it faces.
NIST 800-53 and the NCSC 14 Cloud Security Principles, both recognised standards for cloud and information security, so the assessment is grounded and credible rather than ad hoc.
Scope and pricing depend on your systems and regulatory environment, so we provide a tailored quote rather than a fixed price. Get in touch and we will scope it with you.
Yes. We assess your cloud environment and controls against the frameworks regardless of provider, and tailor the assessment to how your systems are actually set up.
A cloud security assessment is a structured review of how your cloud services are set up and controlled, measured against recognised standards. It looks at areas such as access, data protection, configuration, logging and supplier arrangements, identifies gaps and risks, and ends with prioritised recommendations. Ours uses NIST 800-53 or the NCSC 14 Cloud Security Principles, depending on what suits your organisation.
The most common risks are usually simple rather than exotic: misconfigured settings, excessive access permissions, weak or missing multi factor authentication, data shared more widely than intended, and too little logging to spot a problem. Each is preventable with the right configuration and regular review, which is exactly what our assessment is designed to check.
It depends on your obligations. If clients, regulators or contracts ask for NIST 800-53, or you operate in a high security environment, a NIST assessment is the right choice. If you mainly use cloud tools and want to adopt recognised good practice without that depth, the NCSC principles are simpler and more accessible. We will recommend the right fit when we scope the work with you.
No, the two complement each other. A cloud security assessment reviews your settings, controls and governance against a framework. A cloud penetration test attempts to exploit weaknesses to show what an attacker could achieve. Many organisations start with the assessment to fix the basics, then test. Penetration testing is delivered through our partner network, and we can help you plan both.
Yes. Microsoft 365 is a cloud service, and for many organisations much of the everyday risk sits in how it is configured: sign in settings, administrator access, external sharing and email protection. The same principles apply as for platforms such as AWS, Azure or Google Cloud, and our advice is based on your own setup and risks rather than on any one product.
Book a consultation and we will tailor the right level of support to your organisation.
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