Clear Path Security
Example Use Cases
1. Charity / Non-Profit Organisation
Charity Example: A mid-sized homelessness charity based in Manchester. With 35 staff and a rotating pool of 80 volunteers, they manage sensitive personal data, donation records, and outreach program schedules. They are not cyber experts and rely on a part-time IT technician and a third-party MSP.
Potential Objectives:
Maximise mission impact, not tech overhead.
Protect donor and beneficiary data.
Demonstrate compliance with UK data protection laws (e.g. UK GDPR).
Meet Cyber Essentials / Cyber Essentials Plus for grant eligibility.
Potential Pain Points:
Limited budgets and overstretched IT teams.
High volunteer turnover, often with low cyber awareness.
Increasingly targeted by phishing and ransomware due to perceived weakness.
Struggle to justify security spend over programmatic activities.
Use Case: Our fractional MSSP could have provided:
Security awareness training for all staff and volunteers
Anti-phishing protections on email systems
Monthly vulnerability scanning with remediation reports for their MSP
Assistance achieving Cyber Essentials certification
Impact: Improved donor trust, secured their digital donation platforms, and passed a grant audit that required proof of cybersecurity maturity.
2. Public Library
Library Example: A small regional network of six public libraries. They provide open Wi-Fi, public access computers, and online lending portals. The internal IT support is minimal and managed at the county level.
Potential Objectives:
Safeguard public networks and digital catalogues.
Protect public access PCs and Wi-Fi infrastructure.
Ensure data integrity and availability of community-facing services.
Remain compliant with public sector regulations and cyber frameworks.
Potential Pain Points:
Open networks = high attack surface.
Legacy systems and restricted upgrade cycles.
Low internal capacity for security monitoring and incident response.
Risk of reputational damage from breaches or defacements.
Use Case: They turn to our MSSP for:
Endpoint protection and application control for all public machines
Segmentation of public and internal networks
Incident response plan development and training
Monthly threat reporting shared with council IT
Impact: The libraries gained control over unmanaged risks, increased operational uptime, and passed a council-led cybersecurity audit without additional FTEs.
3. Multi-Academy Trust (Education Sector)
Education Example: A trust of seven schools across Kent. Each site has its own IT lead, but there's no central security capability. The trust handles thousands of student records and uses cloud-based learning platforms and MIS.
Potential Objectives:
Protect student data and staff credentials.
Maintain uptime of critical systems (MIS, VLEs).
Comply with DfE cyber security standards and ICO regulations.
Demonstrate cyber maturity to Ofsted and parents.
Potential Pain Points:
Growing ransomware threats targeting schools.
Under-resourced IT support, often one person for multiple sites.
Need for centralised visibility across multiple campuses or schools.
Managing BYOD and classroom devices securely.
Use Case: We implement a unified security strategy:
Trust-wide EDR deployment and monitoring
Centralised incident detection and alerting
Staff-focused phishing simulations and training
Policy development and support with Cyber Essentials Plus
Impact: DfE compliance, dramatically reduced click rates in phishing tests, and a standardised approach across all academies without hiring a dedicated full time security team.
4. Financial Advisory Firm
Regulated SMB Example: An IFA network based in Birmingham with 50 staff and a hybrid working model. They manage sensitive financial data and must comply with FCA regulations.
Potential Objectives:
Ensure compliance with sector-specific regulations (e.g. FCA, SRA, NHS DSP Toolkit).
Secure client data to avoid reputational or legal risks.
Reduce audit pain and demonstrate due diligence.
Avoid breach-related downtime or data loss.
Potential Pain Points:
Overwhelmed by regulation complexity (e.g. ISO 27001, DPA, GDPR).
Don’t know if current IT supplier is delivering effective security.
Difficulty proving control effectiveness to regulators or clients.
Risk of targeted attacks due to nature of data handled.
Use Case: After receiving a supplier assessment from a potential client they turn to our MSSP for:
Policy and governance review against FCA and GDPR
Risk assessment and gap remediation planning
Managed SIEM to monitor their hybrid estate
Ongoing patch and vulnerability management support
Impact: Met FCA due diligence requirements, won a new client contract, and created an auditable security program that could scale with future mergers.
5. Engineering Consultancy
Risk Averse SMB Example: A 20-person CAD and design consultancy. After seeing repeated news of ransomware affecting similar businesses, the directors realised their MSP had no clear cyber protections.
Potential Objectives:
Get basic protections in place fast.
Understand risk without technical overwhelm.
Gain a sense of security and control.
Reassure board / owners, or clients that “something is being done.”
Potential Pain Points:
Paralysis due to fear and lack of expertise.
Don’t know how vulnerable they are or what to prioritise.
Distrust of jargon-heavy IT/security vendors.
Afraid of being locked into expensive long-term contracts.
Use Case: We deliver a rapid hardening project:
Asset discovery and quick-start risk assessment
Cloud-based EDR with managed threat response
MFA rollout for key systems
Basic cyber hygiene training and policy templates
Impact: Gained confidence, reduced exposure to ransomware, and felt empowered to talk to clients about their proactive approach.
6. Investment-Ready Tech Startup
Startup Example: A fintech start-up in Leeds preparing for a funding round. They handle anonymised credit analytics and are often asked by investors for details about security governance.
Potential Objectives:
Build a defensible security posture that withstands due diligence.
Demonstrate maturity to investors, buyers, or strategic partners.
Prove risk management aligns with business strategy.
Accelerate ISO 27001 or Cyber Essentials Plus certification.
Potential Pain Points:
Last-minute due diligence surprises.
Lack of internal governance documentation or security roadmap.
Disorganised evidence for policies, access controls, or incident response.
Technical founders unsure how to “speak investor risk language.”
Use Case: Our fractional vCISO and MSSP team help with:
Security governance documentation (policies, access controls, data flows)
Control mapping to ISO 27001 and SOC 2 for future growth
Monthly security reports for the board
Penetration testing and remediation prior to due diligence
Impact: Closed their funding round with a clean security bill of health and began pursuing ISO 27001 with our continued support.
7. Smaller MSP Partnering for Assurance
MSP Example: A 10-person MSP in Wales serving 80 small businesses. Clients increasingly ask for security assurance and the team is overwhelmed.
Potential Objectives:
Validate their own security posture to protect client trust.
Differentiate with independently assured cyber services.
Reduce the risk of client compromise impacting their brand.
Offer co-branded or white-labeled security services.
Potential Pain Points:
Clients demanding more security than they’re equipped to offer.
Internal security processes not well-documented or tested.
Lack of 24/7 monitoring capability or IR expertise.
Concerns about maintaining credibility during incidents.
Use Case: We created a co-branded partnership with:
SOC-as-a-Service underpinning their client offering
Security reviews of their own IT and MSP tool stack
Shared reporting templates for client reviews
Joint webinars and sales support to help sell security
Impact: Retained key clients, won two new accounts based on security posture, and reduced risk across their estate.
8. Individual & Family (Privacy-Conscious Professional)
Family Example: A private consultant, author, and speaker with a large online presence. Also manages several family devices and wants to protect her teenage children’s privacy and online habits.
Potential Objectives:
Protect family members, smart home, and digital identities.
Secure online reputations and personal projects.
Ensure privacy from tracking, data brokers, and account compromise.
Recover and respond effectively to personal breaches or doxxing.
Potential Pain Points:
Overwhelmed by the number of devices, accounts, and threats.
No central place to see or manage risks.
Lacking time or skills to maintain proper hygiene.
Unaware of what's exposed (e.g. old posts, credentials on dark web).
Use Case: Our team provide:
OSINT audit (exposed personal and professional data)
DNS filtering and mobile device protections for the home network
Secure password and MFA setup across accounts
Coaching for family on cyberbullying and digital footprints
Impact: Secured her brand, prevented account hijacking, and built digital literacy and safety into her family’s daily life.
Summary
| Persona | Objectives | Pain Points | CPS Value |
| Charities | Protect donors, low-cost assurance | Budget, staff turnover | Low-cost MDR, Cyber Essentials |
| Libraries | Safe public access, system uptime | Legacy infra, low staff | Network segmentation, AV, SIEM |
| Schools | Data protection, compliance | Low IT support, BYOD | Endpoint control, phishing defence |
| Regulated SMBs | Compliance, data protection | Audit readiness, targeted risk | Risk-based services, GRC support |
| Risk Averse SMBs | Basic protections, clarity | Lack of knowledge, fear | Assessments, easy wins, EDR |
| Growth SMBs | Security maturity for investment | Gaps in evidence, governance | vCISO, roadmap, cert readiness |
| MSPs | Assure posture, partner growth | Limited security depth | White-label SOC, testing |
| Individuals | Privacy, digital life security | Lack of visibility, complexity | Personal cyber hygiene, IR |