TCSC was formed by our founder Chris Ford who left School and went straight into work. Never feeling satisfied working in factories Chris knew he wanted to better himself. Chris Grandad introduced him to the Atari console in the early 80’s and by the early 1990s Chris had his own Sinclair ZX spectrum. Playing on computers from an early age was the beginnings of Chris’s passion for computers and fuelled his desire to work in the industry. Getting a job in the IT industry with no qualifications was not going to be easy. Chris visited many computer repair shops seeking that first opportunity but could not land a job. Undeterred Chris booked himself on a computer building course in Banbury where he learned to build a computer from scratch and then install Windows XP. Following the computer course Chris went on to pass the Comptia A+ and Comptia Network + these entry level certifications where enough for Chris to secure his first role working on an IT helpdesk for IBM. Being at the coal face of the IT operation was an important learning experience. The IT helpdesk was measured on their customer satisfaction and this experience taught the fundamentals of Information Technology and providing exceptional customer service. 

It was not long before Chris moved into customer facing roles where he was interfacing with customers fixing problems with computers, servers, and handheld devices. Chris had a strong desire to keep progressing within the industry and began fine tuning his technical skills to move into more senior roles. Networking was an area that Chris was really interested in and began knocking at the door of the Network Manager where he worked. The network managers advice was to pass the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) which Chris did and then landed his first role as a Network Security Specialist. A few years later (2006) the Payment Card Industry (PCI) standard was released, and the Building Society Chris worked at had the task to ensure they complied with the PCI standard. Implementing and manging the security controls required for PCI become Chris responsibility. To support the new role Chris studied and passed the advanced Cisco Certified Network Security Professional exam.

The exposure to the security side is where Chris journey began in Information Security and Cyber security. During the early part of Chris Cyber and Information security career his focus was on network security which involved installing security controls such as Firewalls, Intrusion Prevention, Endpoint Security controls, Security Incident Event Management Systems (SIEM), Deploying Secure VPN, implementing network segmentation and writing all the processes for the controls to be managed effectively. Working in a Security Operations Centre (SOC) was Chris next move, and this was valuable learning experience. Chris studied and passed SANS GIAC Certified Incident Handler (GCIH) to support his move into SOC.A security Operations Centre is the nerve centre to detect and respond to Cyber-attacks against the organisation. Understanding the techniques and tactics that Cyber criminals use and then supporting the business to detect, respond and mitigate attacks was a key part of this role. Chris was then promoted into Security Architecture role where he was responsible for designing the security controls needed for the organisation. To aid Chris move into architecture he studied and passed The Open Group Architecture Framework (TOGAF).

Cyber and Information security covers lots of different domains and at this point in Chris career he decided to move into a Governance, Risk and compliance (GRC) and to support this move he achieved the following Certifications: Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), ISACA Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC), ISACA Certified Information Security Manager (CSIM), ISO27001 lead implementer, ITIL level 1 foundation. Developing Governance process and procedures to manage supply chain risk, Implementing Risk Management strategy’s, implementing Information Security Policies, Meeting regulatory requirements GDPR, PCI, and ISO27001 implementation where all a key focus for the GRC roles.

Having worked and learned across multiple security domains Chris decided to become an independent Cyber and Information Security Consultant. During this time Chris has led the security delivery on several big transformation programmes. This has involved organisations going through transition service agreement (TSA) and standing up a brand-new Security Operation Centre, organisations moving from on premise to Cloud and supporting the security delivery for large projects. Chris has a wealth of experience in lots of areas in Cyber and Information Security and from the start of his career his passion has been to deliver excellent customer service and go above and beyond.

TCSC promise to our customers is that we will always endeavour to provide the best value and most positive customer journey with the goal of forming long term relationships and supporting you with any Cyber and Information Security requirements.