Claudio De Paoli, Head of CyberSecWhen cyber risk is treated primarily as a technical issue, leadership teams struggle to understand how vulnerabilities could affect critical services, regulatory obligations and operational continuity.
BIP CyberSec addresses this challenge by approaching cyber security as a business and decision-making issue as much as a technical one. As the Cyber Security Center of Excellence of the multinational consulting firm BIP, the practice integrates strategy, governance, technology and cyber defence within a single operating model, allowing organisations to evaluate cyber risk in the context of their business processes, organisational structures and regulatory responsibilities.
“Cyber risk cannot remain confined to dashboards and vulnerability lists. It must be represented in the language of accountability, services and strategic decisions,” says Claudio De Paoli, head of CyberSec.
From Fragmented Controls to Business-Driven Security
How does the Cyber Risk DIVE framework translate technical vulnerabilities into operational risk insight?
At the centre of this approach is Cyber Risk DIVE. It maps cyber exposure across legal entities, business services and digital platforms. Instead of measuring isolated controls, the framework shows how threats affect operations and regulatory obligations. The mapping transforms technical findings into clear risk insights, enabling leadership to understand where exposure concentrates and what requires prioritisation.
Beyond risk visibility, resilience is strengthened through business continuity, crisis management and cyber resilience services delivered within its Strategy offering. The services include the definition of continuity and recovery strategies, the integration of cyber scenarios into business continuity frameworks and executive-level tabletop exercises involving CEOs and their first line of management.
How does BIP CyberSec simulate real-world cyber threats to strengthen organizational defenses?
On the defensive front, BIP CyberSec’s Cyber Defense portfolio spans the lifecycle of attack simulation and exposure management, combining technical depth with governance awareness. Specialized ethical hacking teams deliver penetration testing, red teaming and mobile application testing as simulations of realistic attacker behaviour.
Rather than relying on static testing models, BIP CyberSec continuously invests in research and threat intelligence to track how attack methodologies evolve in real environments. This ensures ethical hacking engagements move beyond generic vulnerability discovery to replicate credible scenarios security leaders are likely to face.
The Ransomware Simulation service reflects this approach, supported by a continuously updated proprietary database of tactics, techniques and procedures used by ransomware groups to design simulations based on current attack chains.
Operational monitoring and response capabilities are further supported through the Reack Security Center, a 24/7 Security Operations Center designed for advanced threat detection, monitoring and response.
Cyber Resilience across Critical Infrastructure
How does BIP CyberSec strengthen cybersecurity governance in operational technology and industrial environments?
Operational Technology environments present distinct challenges, as industrial automation systems often lack complete asset inventories, defined security perimeters and structured risk management. BIP CyberSec addresses this through governance-led engagement and extensive on-site activities across industrial plants, helping organisations define scope, responsibilities and priorities before introducing xDefense, a solution designed to strengthen asset visibility, risk management and security governance in OT and Industrial IoT environments.
An example from the energy sector illustrates this model in practice. A critical infrastructure operator faced limited visibility across its industrial environments, with incomplete asset inventories and fragmented governance over OT security responsibilities.
BIP CyberSec supported the organisation in defining and evolving its cybersecurity operating model while conducting extensive on-site activities across hundreds of industrial plants to inventory assets and identify OT weaknesses. Before the engagement, plant-level exposure was inconsistently mapped; afterward, visibility was consolidated, responsibilities assigned and remediation prioritised based on production impact.
How does Privacy DIVE support regulatory compliance and privacy governance in public-sector environments?
In addition, BIP CyberSec also supports privacy governance in the government sector through its Privacy DIVE platform, operationalising data processing assessments, DPIAs and privacy risk analysis for a public administration, while institutionalising RoPA management and ensuring continuous regulatory alignment through dedicated advisory support.
The practice brings together over 500 professionals spanning governance, law, engineering and offensive security, enabling similar engagements across telecommunications, media, financial services and government.
BIP CyberSec continues refining its resilience model through ongoing risk assessment, executive engagement and defence activities. This approach keeps cyber exposure aligned with regulatory accountability and ensures leadership retains clarity over business impact.
On the defensive front, BIP CyberSec’s Cyber Defense portfolio spans the lifecycle of attack simulation and exposure management, combining technical depth with governance awareness. Specialized ethical hacking teams deliver penetration testing, red teaming and mobile application testing as simulations of realistic attacker behaviour.
Cyber risk cannot remain confined to dashboards and vulnerability lists. It must be represented in the language of accountability, services and strategic decisions.
The Ransomware Simulation service reflects this approach, supported by a continuously updated proprietary database of tactics, techniques and procedures used by ransomware groups to design simulations based on current attack chains.
Operational monitoring and response capabilities are further supported through the Reack Security Center, a 24/7 Security Operations Center designed for advanced threat detection, monitoring and response.
Cyber Resilience across Critical Infrastructure
How does BIP CyberSec strengthen cybersecurity governance in operational technology and industrial environments?
Operational Technology environments present distinct challenges, as industrial automation systems often lack complete asset inventories, defined security perimeters and structured risk management. BIP CyberSec addresses this through governance-led engagement and extensive on-site activities across industrial plants, helping organisations define scope, responsibilities and priorities before introducing xDefense, a solution designed to strengthen asset visibility, risk management and security governance in OT and Industrial IoT environments.An example from the energy sector illustrates this model in practice. A critical infrastructure operator faced limited visibility across its industrial environments, with incomplete asset inventories and fragmented governance over OT security responsibilities.
BIP CyberSec supported the organisation in defining and evolving its cybersecurity operating model while conducting extensive on-site activities across hundreds of industrial plants to inventory assets and identify OT weaknesses. Before the engagement, plant-level exposure was inconsistently mapped; afterward, visibility was consolidated, responsibilities assigned and remediation prioritised based on production impact.
How does Privacy DIVE support regulatory compliance and privacy governance in public-sector environments?
In addition, BIP CyberSec also supports privacy governance in the government sector through its Privacy DIVE platform, operationalising data processing assessments, DPIAs and privacy risk analysis for a public administration, while institutionalising RoPA management and ensuring continuous regulatory alignment through dedicated advisory support.
The practice brings together over 500 professionals spanning governance, law, engineering and offensive security, enabling similar engagements across telecommunications, media, financial services and government.
BIP CyberSec continues refining its resilience model through ongoing risk assessment, executive engagement and defence activities. This approach keeps cyber exposure aligned with regulatory accountability and ensures leadership retains clarity over business impact.
Governing Cyber Risk At Executive Level
Cyber security providers are under pressure to move beyond technical assurance and deliver clarity at board level. Executive teams no longer view cyber exposure as an isolated IT concern but as a factor that influences regulatory standing, service continuity and strategic investment. Traditional assessments often generate long lists of vulnerabilities or control gaps yet fail to connect those findings to how the organisation actually creates value. The result is fragmented remediation, misaligned spending and limited visibility into which threats truly matter.
An effective cyber security partner must anchor risk analysis in business processes, legal accountability and the services that underpin revenue and public trust. Cyber exposure needs to be expressed in terms executives can act upon: which services are most critical, how regulatory obligations could be compromised and where investment will measurably reduce risk. Quantification models that map risk to legal entities, business services and supporting digital platforms enable leadership to prioritise decisions based on impact rather than technical severity scores alone.
Testing and defence capabilities also demand closer scrutiny. Ethical hacking and red teaming have matured, yet many engagements still rely on static methodologies that uncover weaknesses without replicating credible attack paths. Attack simulation should reflect current threat actor behaviour and evolving tactics, informed by continuous research and threat intelligence. When testing mirrors real ransomware chains or coordinated intrusion scenarios, it exposes not only technical gaps but also breakdowns in escalation, crisis management and cross functional coordination. The value of such exercises lies in the organisational changes that follow: risk driven remediation, strengthened detection and response processes and clearer governance across security, IT, legal and business functions.
Sector complexity introduces another dimension. Energy, telecommunications, financial services and government environments require integration of governance, compliance and field level execution. Industrial and operational technology landscapes in particular remain under protected in many enterprises. Asset inventories are incomplete; security perimeters undefined and risk management inconsistent. Providers that can combine on site assessments, structured governance models and tailored technology controls offer a more credible path to protecting critical infrastructure and production continuity.
Strategic resilience extends beyond prevention. It depends on shared risk visibility, executive level crisis rehearsal and the ability to measure whether continuity plans will function under pressure. Tabletop exercises that involve senior leadership, integration of cyber scenarios into business continuity frameworks and continuous tracking of risk evolution provide evidence that preparedness is sustained rather than assumed. Clarity in risk communication to boards and measurable improvement in decision making under simulated crisis conditions indicate that cyber capability is embedded into governance rather than confined to technical teams.
BIP CyberSec aligns closely with these expectations. It integrates strategy, governance, technology and cyber defence within a single model that frames cyber risk as a business issue rather than a technical afterthought. Its Cyber Risk DIVE platform maps exposure across legal entities, business services and digital platforms, giving executives a structured view of where risk concentrates and how mitigation affects continuity and compliance. Its intelligence driven ethical hacking and ransomware simulations draw on continuously updated research into attacker tactics, translating findings into risk prioritised remediation and improved crisis coordination. In industrial contexts, its xDefense solution addresses asset visibility and governance gaps in OT and IoT environments. For organisations that require a provider capable of linking board level risk oversight to concrete defensive execution, BIP CyberSec stands out as a disciplined and strategically grounded choice.
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