Which technology services would create the greatest business impact if disrupted?
Assurance
Treat resilience as an operating capability.
Security controls create value only when they remain effective under operational pressure. Novelleq examines the architecture, ownership, dependencies and decision paths that determine whether critical services can resist disruption and recover deliberately.
We connect technical exposure to business services and executive accountability. The result is a proportionate improvement plan that leadership can fund, govern and test.
Where regulatory or assurance expectations are relevant, we provide readiness support aligned with the applicable context. We do not present that work as certification or legal advice.
Are incident decisions, escalation paths and recovery responsibilities genuinely executable?
Where do suppliers or concentration risks weaken operational resilience?
Which control improvements materially reduce exposure?
Common resilience and security work.
Security and resilience work is scoped around business services, credible disruption scenarios and the evidence needed to decide what must improve first.
Cybersecurity posture review
Risk-based assessment of identity, access, endpoint, network, application, cloud and data controls, with findings tied to business exposure.
Critical-service resilience assessment
Mapping of business services to technology dependencies, recovery objectives, operational ownership and the realistic impact of disruption.
Third-party technology risk review
Assessment of supplier access, subcontracting, assurance evidence, concentration risk, contractual control points and exit or containment options.
Incident readiness and response design
Definition and testing of escalation, executive decisions, technical coordination, evidence handling, communications and post-incident learning.
Business continuity and disaster recovery
Review of recovery architecture, backup integrity, runbooks, restoration testing, dependency assumptions and ownership of recovery outcomes.
Regulatory and assurance readiness
Technology-readiness support aligned to relevant NIS2, DORA, ISO 27001, SOC 2 or sector expectations without presenting the work as certification or legal advice.
Resilience is assessed through critical services, not isolated controls.
The review starts with the services the organisation must protect and recover. Architecture, people, suppliers, response processes and governance are then evaluated against credible disruption scenarios and business tolerance.
Critical services
Service importance, customer and operational impact, tolerance for disruption, recovery priorities and the technology dependencies behind each service.
Preventive & detective controls
Identity, access, vulnerability management, secure configuration, monitoring, data protection, change control and the practical effectiveness of existing safeguards.
Response & recovery
Detection, escalation, containment, executive decision-making, communication, recovery architecture, backup integrity, exercises and learning after incidents.
Third parties & governance
Supplier access, concentration, contractual control points, subcontracting, assurance evidence, management accountability and risk acceptance.
What the engagement can cover.
Scope is proportionate to the decision and designed around the evidence needed to move.
- 01Cybersecurity posture and architecture review
Assess identity, network, application, data and cloud controls in the context of threat exposure, operating practices and business criticality.
- 02Third-party and technology supply-chain risk
Map material dependencies, access paths, concentration risks, contractual control points and realistic containment options.
- 03Incident readiness and response operating model
Define decision rights, escalation, technical coordination, executive communication, evidence handling and learning loops before an incident tests them.
- 04Business continuity and disaster recovery
Connect business-service requirements to recovery architecture, runbooks, ownership, dependency assumptions and testable recovery objectives.
- 05Resilience testing and remediation
Design scenario-based exercises and technical validation that expose gaps safely, then convert results into funded and owned remediation.
- 06Regulatory and assurance readiness support
Support readiness aligned with relevant NIS2, DORA, ISO 27001 and SOC 2 expectations without presenting the work as certification or legal interpretation.
Methods and tooling.
The assessment combines recognised security and resilience frameworks with service-level evidence, supplier evidence and scenario testing.
Methodologies
- 01NIST CSF and CIS control mapping
Controls are mapped to business-relevant outcomes using recognised structures such as NIST CSF 2.0 and CIS Controls, then prioritised by material exposure.
- 02Operational resilience scenario testing
Credible disruption scenarios test whether escalation, containment, executive decisions and recovery steps work under pressure.
- 03Secure software and architecture review
Application and architecture risks can be assessed with OWASP ASVS, threat modelling, dependency review and secure delivery controls.
- 04Assurance readiness mapping
Where relevant, evidence is organised around NIS2, DORA, ISO 27001, SOC 2 or sector expectations while keeping certification and legal advice separate.
Evidence & tooling
- 01Security evidence platforms
Inputs may include vulnerability scanners, EDR/XDR signals, SIEM evidence, identity-platform exports, access reviews and configuration baselines.
- 02Cloud and configuration assessment
CSPM, cloud-native security services, Kubernetes and container scans, IaC reviews and CIS benchmark evidence can be used where applicable.
- 03Incident and recovery artefacts
Runbooks, backup reports, restore tests, incident tickets, post-incident reviews and communication logs are reviewed for operational realism.
- 04Supplier assurance evidence
Contract schedules, SOC reports, certifications, access models, security questionnaires and service records are compared with actual dependency and risk.
Connect exposure, operational consequence and accountable remediation.
The work is risk-based and context-specific. Frameworks inform the assessment where relevant, but the objective is an operating capability that can be understood, tested and improved.
- 01
Establish service criticality
Identify the processes, customers, data and obligations that define material impact, then map the enabling technology and third parties.
- 02
Test design and operation
Assess whether controls are appropriate, consistently operated and supported by evidence rather than relying only on policy statements.
- 03
Exercise decision paths
Use realistic scenarios to test detection, escalation, executive coordination, technical response, communication and recovery assumptions.
- 04
Sequence resilience work
Prioritise actions by risk reduction, business dependency and feasibility, with explicit owners, target conditions and assurance points.
When leadership brings us in.
- Critical services have unclear failure or recovery paths
- Third-party dependencies have outgrown existing oversight
- Regulatory expectations require an operational response
- A transformation or incident has exposed gaps in accountability
What the work produces.
- Risk-based resilience assessment
- Critical-service and dependency map
- Incident and recovery operating model
- Prioritised control and remediation programme
- Executive reporting and exercise outcomes
Targeted posture or architecture review
Operational resilience assessment
Incident and recovery model design
Independent remediation assurance
Engagement shape, governance and team composition are agreed only after the decision context, constraints and required evidence are understood.
Practical questions before an engagement begins.
Scope, independence, access and responsibilities are resolved before work starts so the mandate can produce decision-ready evidence.
01Does Novelleq provide certification or legal advice?
No. Novelleq provides technology and operational readiness support. Where NIS2, DORA, ISO 27001 or SOC 2 expectations are relevant, the work can be aligned with those expectations, but certification and legal interpretation remain with appropriately qualified bodies and advisers.
02Can the assessment cover suppliers and cloud services?
Yes. Material technology providers, access paths, service dependencies, subcontracting and concentration risks are considered alongside internal controls. The depth depends on criticality and the evidence available under existing agreements.
03Is penetration testing included?
Technical testing can be incorporated where it is relevant and explicitly authorised. It is one source of evidence within a broader assessment of architecture, operational practice, response capability and business impact.
The objective is not a longer control list. It is an organisation that can make sound decisions before, during and after disruption.Discuss a priority