Security Assurance
End-to-end assurance for government and enterprise systems — risk assessments, control reviews and accreditation evidence that stands up to scrutiny, from discovery through to executive reporting.
Cyber security,
made useful
for people.
I'm Haidar Rashid. I share practical perspectives on cyber risk, resilience and leadership, shaped by over a decade across central UK government, enterprise and community organisations.
Strategic Advisor
Assurance Profile
Expertise
Security assurance, cyber risk management and cyber security risk strategy.
Background
10+ years across UK government and industry — leading cyber security assurance and risk engagements.
Community outreach
Co-founder of CyBeds CIC & Trustee at a local Citizens Advice.
01 — Areas of expertise
Where experience
becomes useful.
Governance & Compliance Strategy
Regulatory requirements translated into roadmaps your boards can approve and your teams can deliver.
Executive Assurance Reporting
Risk posture and governance maturity reported in language executives act on — no 200-page PDFs nobody reads.
Central Government Advisory
Security management plans, policy alignment and stakeholder liaison for central UK government programmes.
Resilience & Incident Readiness
Incident response readiness and community resilience planning — informed by national-level work with a UK government department.
Assurance Capability Building
Mentoring and frameworks that leave your own people stronger — I've built and led assurance teams across the public and private sector.
02 — Case studies
What the work
looks like in practice.
Client names and identifying details are withheld. Each example is drawn from real engagements and described at a level that respects confidentiality.
Central UK government
Assurance for a high-value government contract
- Challenge
- A major government engagement needed a security management approach that satisfied the customer's assurance requirements without stalling delivery.
- Approach
- I built the Security Management Plan from the ground up, mapped obligations to owners and milestones, and ran the risk register as a live delivery tool rather than a document.
- Outcome
- Security requirements were met on the customer's timeline, with risk exposure reported to the executive board in a single, readable view.
Enterprise · Consultancy
Compliance roadmap a board could actually approve
- Challenge
- An enterprise client had a long list of audit findings and no agreed order of work — every function considered its own gap the priority.
- Approach
- I assessed the findings against real risk and effort, grouped them into phases, and presented a costed roadmap in plain language to the leadership team.
- Outcome
- The roadmap was approved first time, gave delivery teams a clear sequence, and turned a static findings list into tracked progress.
National resilience · UK government department
Strengthening community cyber resilience
- Challenge
- Smaller organisations and community groups were exposed to threats they had neither the budget nor the language to engage with.
- Approach
- I worked across stakeholder groups to assess sector vulnerabilities, improve incident awareness and shape resilience guidance that non-specialists could act on.
- Outcome
- Practical resilience material reaching organisations that commercial security advice rarely gets to.
Capability building
Building an assurance function that outlasts the consultant
- Challenge
- A client depended on external consultants for every assurance decision, which was slow and expensive.
- Approach
- I standardised the assurance approach into reusable templates and review gates, then mentored the in-house team through real assessments.
- Outcome
- The client's own team now runs routine assurance, with external support reserved for genuinely complex work.
Haidar RashidMCIIS · PriCSP
03 — About
From government programmes to the boardroom.
I've spent over ten years in information and cyber security across central UK government and enterprise — including Big 4 consulting on government engagements, and leading cyber assurance delivery in large consultancies.
My current role — Principal Security Consultant — includes a cyber security secondment with a UK government department, contributing to national resilience. That experience reinforced my belief that people are at the heart of cyber security — the best assurance only lands when it connects with the humans behind the decisions. So everything I deliver is specific, prioritised and written for people.
Outside client work I co-founded CyBeds CIC to open up cyber careers in Bedfordshire and serve as a Trustee at a local Citizens Advice, leading on cyber security. I previously served as an elected education governor for a local education trust.
04 — Community
Giving cyber back
to the community.
Co-founder
CyBeds CIC
I co-founded CyBeds, a Community Interest Company breaking down the barriers to cyber careers in Bedfordshire — for students, career changers, experienced practitioners, charities and small businesses alike. The goal is simple: create opportunities, build capability and strengthen cyber resilience across our communities.
Cyber Social
Connecting people, building networks and creating a supportive community.
Cyber Pathways
Helping individuals start and progress their cyber security careers.
Cyber Green
Promoting sustainability and responsible practice across cyber and technology.
Cyber Clinics
Practical guidance for individuals, charities and small organisations.
Cyber Guardians
Community awareness, education and resilience initiatives.
Trustee
Citizens Advice
As a Trustee I lead on cyber security — helping a local charity give free, independent advice to the community while keeping its own technology and data safe and its services open to everyone.
Visit Citizens AdviceEducation governance
I previously served as an elected education governor for a multi-academy education trust, with responsibility for its secondary academies — plus school engagement through Inspiring the Future.
05 — Experience
A decade across
government & enterprise.
Current roles
- Employer undisclosed
Undisclosed
Principal Security Consultant
Leading cyber security assurance and risk engagements across complex central UK government programmes — owning outcomes from discovery through to executive reporting.
HM Government
Cyber Security Community Resilience Secondee
Contributing to national cyber resilience through stakeholder coordination, incident awareness and assessment of sector vulnerabilities.
Previous roles
HM Government
Cyber Security — Junior to Mid-Senior
Progressed through information and cyber security roles, leading governance, risk and assurance work across central government environments.
DXC Technology
Information Assurance Consultant
Led assurance delivery for enterprise and public-sector clients, presented compliance roadmaps to executive boards and mentored consultants.
EY
UK Government Security Manager
Managed assurance for high-value government contracts, developed Security Management Plans and reported risk exposure to executive boards.
06 — Speaking & conversations
Let’s make cyber
easier to talk about.
I’m always open to a useful conversation — whether you’re planning a cyber event, exploring a difficult issue or simply want to compare notes with another practitioner.
Find a time on CalendlySpeaking invitations
Panels, podcasts, roundtables and events exploring cyber risk, resilience, governance and careers.
Cyber catch-ups
Informal conversations with practitioners, community leaders and people finding their route into cyber.
Community conversations
Ideas and collaborations that can strengthen cyber awareness, inclusion and resilience where it matters.
07 — Contact
Continue the conversation.
Follow what I’m sharing, invite me to contribute, or send a note if there’s a cyber security issue worth unpacking together.