Starting from the Beginning

Before the Kingsman, there was a misunderstood teenager from Scotland. Misunderstood and confused by his environment. I was mistaken by my teachers at school, as I have dyslexia. The school I attended struggled to deliver solutions. They attribute my attention deficit to not being clever. Said I had behavioural issues. I did have behavioural problems, right enough, a council estate environment with a bad crowd and limited options. Bored with school and annoyed that I was barely passing tests and exams. I enjoyed History. Was good at Maths. Athletic and competed in competitions. I left school with basic qualifications. Not my proudest moment.

What next?

Low in confidence. I always wanted to achieve, but I didn't know how to do so. A good start would be getting a job. I applied for a job at KFC... I got rejected!

That was not part of the script. What now?

Slightly worried about going back into education, I thought about it. Decided I would try college. Enrolled on a course where you could sit your A-levels. Studied English, History, Maths and Psychology. The college was better at accommodating my dyslexia. Passed the course. I got a B on the final exams.

I have gained some confidence at this point. What do I want to do now?

Great idea. I will study Law. Studied Law for two years. Decided Law was not for me. It was drier than a sandal in the Sahara Desert. Contract Law was unbelievably boring. There was no consensus ad idem. This is a Latin maxim for agreement on the same thing.

Hmmm, what now? Could I do it? Surely not. The mental warfare is going on in my mind.

What have I got to lose? I decided to apply for the UK Intelligence community.

One of the most prestigious organisations in the world. With my non-biased opinion, THE best!

My application was successful. I attended an assessment centre. I remember the building looking like a typical building. One you would walk past and have no idea what happens inside. Eight hours of intense tests began, including math, English, problem-solving, team-building, and an IQ test.

I waited anxiously.

Surrounded by the most intelligent people in the UK, have multiple degrees from Oxford and Cambridge. I felt like an outsider. I was the only person who had a 'working-class background' and no university degree. Imposter syndrome hit hard. At the time, my background was rare. I found this out later. Then, I got called into a room. It was a bit dingy, but at least the chair was comfortable. The person reviewing my test scores looked up and asked...

"Do you have dyslexia?"

I hesitated. Thinking: Is this a bad thing?

But honesty is best.

"Yeah, I do," I replied.

Their response shocked me: "Your results are well above the standard. You got the top scores in everything... except English."

Little did I know that my IQ was in the top 1% of the UK population. Not bad for someone who was not clever at school. But there was a catch. I had to take more tests. Meanwhile, others were celebrating. Someone asked how I did, and I told them I smashed the tests but struggled with English. They rolled their eyes and walked away. I passed the extra tests and entered a world-renowned intelligence organisation.

Once inside, I was assigned a mentor who also had dyslexia.

That mentor changed everything. My mentor taught me how to skim-read, extract key details, and write at an Oxford University dissertation level. Intelligence reports can reach the highest levels of government.

Fast forward years later… I crossed paths again with the person who rolled their eyes at me. This time, they needed my help.

I no longer feel imposter syndrome. Everyone has strengths and weaknesses. It is how you adapt those matters.

My nickname was "The Kingsman" - Yes, from the film, The Kingsman. There was no malice; everyone has a nickname. If anything, I took it as a compliment.

The reason I got called the Kingsman. It was because of the main character. Suburban kid, rough around the edges. Had to prove their worth to the posh kids. Intelligent and never knew their potential.

I cannot say much about what happened inside.

I can tell you about the roles - the pleasure of protecting the country from threats and malicious actors.

I worked in cybersecurity, primarily as a blue team member and occasionally as a red team member.

OSINT & an Intelligence Analyst.

TQ (Tactical Questioning).

Led assessment centres and recruited spies.

Surveillance and Social Engineering.

Physical Security Penetration Tester - Assessed vulnerabilities and pen tested UK government buildings, UK airports, and UK military barracks.

Partnered with NATO, Cabinet Office, Home Office, Foreign Office, US Intelligence community, UK & US military, Special Forces (UK & US). To name a few.

Then that all ended.

I received a phone call on the golf course. An old colleague asked me to work on a project for Microsoft as a Data Centre Security Specialist. Staying in the security clearance world. I've taken on a new challenge, and I've accepted the offer. This project was a great one and enriching. After completing this project, I was asked to join AWS (Amazon Web Services) as a Data Centre Security Specialist. Remaining in the security clearance world. This project focused primarily on physical security.

Five Eyes Ltd

By combining this skill stack, I can look at the bigger picture. Some people excel in cybersecurity, others in physical security, and still others in counter-threat intelligence. Generally, it's rare to find someone with this comprehensive skill set in one career.

That's where commercial threat intelligence comes into action. You may view security through one lens; however, I identify the gaps that you might not consider. This is not a contest; it's a team effort that protects your organisation's security.

It's just as easy to hack/log into a network as it is to walk into a building and do the same thing. My job is to minimise the gaps that allow people to hack or log in, and to prevent unauthorised individuals from walking into your building and causing mayhem.