Consulting

Governance, risk, IT audit and compliance advisory.

We help security, risk, audit and compliance leaders understand which requirements apply, where the real gaps are, and how to close them in a sequence the business can support.

Who it is for

Advisory for leaders accountable to boards, auditors and regulators.

  • CISOs and CIOsSecurity strategy, governance and board reporting.
  • Heads of IT audit and internal auditControl frameworks, ITGC and co-sourced audit support.
  • Compliance and privacy leadersRegulatory and privacy readiness across jurisdictions.
  • Risk and procurementTechnology risk and third-party risk frameworks.
Service lines

Ten consulting service lines.

Select a service to see the challenge, scope, approach, deliverables and expected value.

Information security governance

Security strategy, policy framework and governance structures that leadership can run and evidence.

Client challenge

Security decisions are made ad hoc, policies are outdated, and the board receives activity reports rather than risk information.

Who it is for

CIOs, CISOs and leadership teams building or resetting a security programme.

Scope

  • Security strategy and target operating model
  • Policy and standards framework
  • Roles, committees and RACI
  • Security metrics and board reporting

Approach

Current-state review through interviews and document analysis, benchmarked against ISO/IEC 27001 and NIST CSF 2.0, then a sequenced roadmap.

Deliverables

  • Maturity assessment
  • Security strategy and roadmap
  • Policy set
  • Board reporting template

Business value

A security programme with clear ownership, budget rationale and reporting the board can act on.

Enterprise and technology risk management

Risk frameworks that connect technology and cyber risk to business objectives and risk appetite.

Client challenge

Technology risks are tracked in silos, scored inconsistently and rarely linked to business impact or appetite.

Who it is for

CROs, risk committees and IT leadership in regulated or fast-growing organizations.

Scope

  • Risk methodology and appetite statements
  • Technology and cyber risk register
  • Key risk indicators
  • Risk treatment and acceptance process

Approach

Workshops with business and IT owners, alignment with ISO 31000 and existing ERM, and calibration of scoring.

Deliverables

  • Risk management framework
  • Populated risk register
  • KRI set
  • Risk committee pack

Business value

Consistent, defensible risk decisions and fewer surprises for auditors and regulators.

IT audit and internal controls

Control frameworks and internal audit support for IT general controls, applications and SOX-style programmes.

Client challenge

Recurring audit findings on access, change and operations, unclear control ownership, and heavy manual evidence work.

Who it is for

CFOs, heads of internal audit, IT controllers and organizations preparing for external audit.

Scope

  • IT general controls: access, change, operations, backup
  • Application and automated controls
  • Risk and control matrices
  • Internal audit co-sourcing for IT

Approach

Process walkthroughs, control design review and risk-based testing plans. Independent testing is delivered through Professional Services.

Deliverables

  • Risk and control matrix
  • Control design assessment
  • Remediation plan
  • Audit-ready evidence guide

Business value

Fewer repeat findings and a smoother external audit. We support, and do not replace, your statutory auditor.

ISO management system advisory

Implementation of ISO/IEC 27001, 27701, ISO 22301 and ISO/IEC 42001 management systems, ready for certification audit.

Client challenge

Certification needs a working management system, not just policies, and integrating several standards is complex.

Who it is for

Organizations pursuing first certification, extending scope, or integrating several standards.

Scope

  • Context, scope and risk assessment
  • Statement of Applicability
  • Internal audit and management review
  • Multi-standard integration

Approach

Phased implementation alongside your team, internal audit, and a pre-certification readiness review.

Deliverables

  • Scope and risk methodology
  • Statement of Applicability
  • Policies and procedures
  • Internal audit report

Business value

Certification readiness and a management system that keeps working after the audit. Certificates are issued by independent accredited bodies.

Regulatory compliance

Readiness for cybersecurity regulation across India, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Europe, mapped to one control set.

Client challenge

Overlapping regulators, short reporting windows and inspection findings that keep recurring.

Who it is for

Banks, NBFCs, fintechs, regulated entities and their technology suppliers.

Scope

  • Applicability analysis by entity and service
  • Control mapping across frameworks
  • Gap assessment against evidence
  • Inspection and audit readiness

Approach

Unified control mapping so overlapping requirements are met once, with local obligations added where they differ.

Deliverables

  • Regulatory applicability matrix
  • Unified control map
  • Gap assessment
  • Remediation roadmap

Business value

One maintainable programme instead of separate projects for each regulator.

Data privacy and protection

Privacy programmes for the DPDP Act, GDPR, Saudi PDPL and UAE PDPL.

Client challenge

Personal data is spread across systems and vendors, and notices, consent and rights handling lag behind real processing.

Who it is for

Data Protection Officers, legal and compliance teams, and product owners handling personal data.

Scope

  • Data inventory and processing records
  • Notices, consent and legal bases
  • Data subject rights
  • Cross-border transfers
  • Breach response

Approach

Gap assessment against applicable law, process design and documentation, coordinated with your legal counsel.

Deliverables

  • Data inventory
  • Privacy gap assessment
  • Procedures and templates
  • Breach playbook

Business value

A defensible privacy position that legal, product and security teams can maintain.

Cloud security governance

Governance, policy and control frameworks for AWS, Azure and Google Cloud adoption.

Client challenge

Cloud use outpaces governance: inconsistent accounts, unclear shared-responsibility boundaries and weak evidence for auditors.

Who it is for

Cloud platform owners, CISOs and organizations moving regulated workloads to cloud.

Scope

  • Cloud security policy and standards
  • Shared-responsibility mapping
  • Landing zone guardrail requirements
  • Cloud provider due diligence

Approach

Framework design aligned to CIS Benchmarks and the CSA Cloud Controls Matrix, validated through technical reviews in Professional Services.

Deliverables

  • Cloud security standards
  • Responsibility matrix
  • Guardrail requirements
  • Gap assessment

Business value

Cloud adoption that satisfies auditors and regulators without blocking delivery teams.

Business continuity and resilience

Business continuity and operational resilience programmes aligned to ISO 22301 and sector expectations.

Client challenge

Continuity plans exist on paper but have not been tested against realistic scenarios such as ransomware or provider failure.

Who it is for

Operations, risk and IT leaders in organizations with critical services or resilience obligations.

Scope

  • Business impact analysis
  • Recovery strategies and objectives
  • Continuity and IT DR plans
  • Exercises and testing

Approach

BIA workshops, plan development and scenario-based exercises with technical and executive teams.

Deliverables

  • Business impact analysis
  • Continuity plans
  • Exercise report
  • Improvement plan

Business value

Confidence that critical services can recover within agreed tolerances.

Third-party risk management

Frameworks to assess, contract and monitor vendors, cloud providers and outsourced services.

Client challenge

Vendor reviews are questionnaire-heavy, inconsistent and disconnected from contract terms and ongoing monitoring.

Who it is for

Procurement, risk and security teams managing critical suppliers and outsourcing.

Scope

  • Vendor tiering and due-diligence standards
  • Assessment questionnaires and evidence
  • Contract security clauses
  • Ongoing monitoring approach

Approach

Programme design and assessment of priority vendors, with ongoing operation available through Managed Services.

Deliverables

  • TPRM framework
  • Tiered vendor inventory
  • Assessment templates
  • Priority vendor assessments

Business value

Proportionate oversight of the suppliers that matter, and evidence regulators expect.

AI governance and compliance

AI inventory, risk classification, policy and ISO/IEC 42001 management systems, with EU AI Act readiness where in scope.

Client challenge

AI adoption is outpacing governance, and obligations vary by use case, risk class and role.

Who it is for

Leadership teams, risk and compliance functions, and organizations deploying or selling AI.

Scope

  • AI system inventory and classification
  • AI policy and acceptable use
  • Risk, data governance and human oversight
  • AI management system design

Approach

Inventory and classification workshops, gap assessment and an AI management system, linked to technical testing by AI Security Labs.

Deliverables

  • AI system register
  • Classification rationale
  • AI policy
  • ISO/IEC 42001 roadmap

Business value

Responsible AI adoption backed by evidence, not just policy statements.

Regional regulatory coverage

Frameworks we advise on, by region.

Every regulatory engagement starts with an applicability review. Not every framework applies to every organization, and current versions are confirmed at the start of the work.

India

  • Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and DPDP Rules
  • RBI Master Direction on IT Governance, Risk, Controls and Assurance Practices
  • RBI cybersecurity frameworks for regulated entities
  • SEBI Cybersecurity and Cyber Resilience Framework (CSCRF)
  • CERT-In Directions of April 2022 (incident reporting, log retention)

DPDP obligations commence in phases under the Rules; timelines are confirmed per client.

Saudi Arabia

  • NCA Essential Cybersecurity Controls (ECC)
  • NCA Cloud Cybersecurity Controls (CCC)
  • NCA Critical Systems Cybersecurity Controls (CSCC)
  • SAMA Cyber Security Framework
  • Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL) and Implementing Regulations

Formal NCA and SAMA assessments are performed by the regulator or authorized parties.

United Arab Emirates

  • UAE Information Assurance requirements (formerly NESA)
  • Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 on Personal Data Protection
  • DIFC and ADGM data protection regimes, where applicable
  • Dubai Electronic Security Center: Dubai Information Security Regulation
  • Sector requirements, such as those of the Central Bank of the UAE

Regime applicability is confirmed with your legal counsel.

Europe & international

  • GDPR
  • EU AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689)
  • DORA (Regulation (EU) 2022/2554) and NIS2 (Directive (EU) 2022/2555)
  • SOC 2 readiness, PCI DSS and SWIFT Customer Security Programme
  • ISO/IEC 27001, 27701, 22301 and 42001

SOC 2 reports are issued by licensed CPA firms and PCI DSS assessments by QSAs.

Important: ZYKAV provides advisory and readiness services. We are not a regulator or certification body, and we do not grant regulatory approval, accredited certification, SOC 2 attestation or PCI DSS assessment. Advice on regional requirements is delivered remotely or on site as agreed per engagement.
Engagement options

Start where your need is most urgent.

Readiness assessment

Applicability review and gap assessment against one or more frameworks, with a prioritized roadmap.

Best for
A new requirement or deadline
Format
Fixed scope and fee

Implementation programme

Hands-on build of the management system, control framework or privacy programme alongside your team.

Best for
Certification or inspection goals
Format
Phased project

Advisory retainer

Ongoing access to consultants for governance, audit liaison and regulatory change.

Best for
Teams without in-house specialists
Format
Monthly retainer

Facing an audit or regulatory deadline?

Tell us your jurisdictions, sector and timeline, and we will outline a readiness plan.

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