Public Cloud Assurance Review
Independent Security and Governance Assessment for AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud
Public Cloud Assurance Review
We provide an independent assessment of an organisation's existing public cloud environment, evaluating whether it is configured securely, governed effectively, and aligned to industry best practice.
Designed for organisations that have grown, inherited, or migrated cloud infrastructure without a clear view of their current security and compliance posture, the review establishes an independent baseline and identifies gaps before they become operational or regulatory problems.
Defence Supply Chain & Regulated Industry
Contractual Compliance: Validating cloud security posture against prime contractor or MOD supply chain obligations
Risk Baseline: Establishing a third-party benchmark for organisations in regulated defence and industry environments
Gap Remediation: Identifying and prioritising findings ahead of deployment or certification work
Regulatory Compliance: Assessing cloud environments against NCSC Cloud Security Principles and public sector frameworks
Data Classification: Ensuring data handling and storage configurations meet sensitive or patient data obligations
Audit Evidence: Providing documented, independent assurance for regulatory or commissioning body requirements
Public Sector & Healthcare
Governance Gaps: Identifying misconfiguration, over-permissioned accounts, and ungoverned resources across AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud
Cost & Security Alignment: Ensuring cloud spend reflects actual security posture and organisational risk appetite
Pre-Audit Readiness: Establishing an independent baseline ahead of internal or external audit
Commercial & Enterprise
Why an Independent Public Cloud Review?
Cloud environments rarely stay as they were designed. As platforms grow, teams change, and new services are adopted, the gap between intended and actual security posture widens. An internal review conducted by the same team that built or manages the environment will rarely surface the same findings as an independent one.
The Defended Solutions Public Cloud Assurance Review provides an objective, evidence-based assessment of your current state across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud, benchmarked against NCSC Cloud Security Principles and industry best practice.
| FEATURE | SELF-ASSESSED | INTERNALLY REVIEWED | DEFENDED SOLUTIONS INDEPENDENT REVIEW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Objectivity | None | Limited | Full independence |
| Framework Alignment | Varies | Varies | NCSC Cloud Security Principles |
| Findings Documentation | Informal | Variable | Formal report with risk ratings |
| Prioritised Recommendations | Ad hoc | Ad hoc | Structured and prioritised |
| Third-Party Evidence | None | None | Provided |
| Suitable for Audit or Tender | No | Unlikely | Yes |
If your cloud environment has grown without a formal security review, the gap between your assumed and actual posture is likely larger than you expect.
Contact the Defended Solutions team to discuss the scope of a review for your environment.
What the Review Delivers
The Public Cloud Assurance Review produces a formal, documented assessment of your cloud environment's current security and governance posture. All findings are evidence-based, risk-rated, and accompanied by prioritised recommendations that are actionable by internal teams or a delivery partner.
Environment Discovery
A structured inventory of all cloud resources, services, and configurations across your AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud estate.
Security Configuration Review
Assessment of access controls, identity management, network boundaries, and encryption configuration against NCSC Cloud Security Principles.
Risk-Rated Findings
All findings documented and rated by risk level, giving leadership a clear view of where exposure is highest and where to act first.
Prioritised Recommendations
A structured set of recommendations ordered by priority, with sufficient detail for internal teams or a delivery partner to act on.
Formal Review Report
A written report suitable for use as third-party evidence in audit, tender, or regulatory submissions.
Onward Pathway
Where findings indicate the need for remediation or deployment work, Defended Solutions can provide a clear onward pathway into Public Cloud Deployment.
For organisations that want to understand their current cloud security posture before committing to remediation or deployment work, the Public Cloud Assurance Review provides the independent baseline needed to make informed decisions.
Contact the Defended Solutions team to discuss the scope of a review for your environment.
Evidence in Practice: Establishing Cloud Governance for UK Defence.
See how we applied our Sovereign Cloud Assurance framework to help a major defence organisation secure their boundaries and maintain regulatory compliance.
Delivering a Defensible Path Forward
The Public Cloud Assurance Review is designed to provide a clear, evidence-based starting point. What happens next depends entirely on the findings and your organisation's specific priorities.
Where issues or areas of concern are identified, you typically choose one of three paths:
Internal Resolution: Address any identified gaps using your existing internal teams or current suppliers.
Specialist Support: Engage Defended Solutions to support the remediation or deployment process.
Independent Baseline: Use the review as an independent, third-party baseline while remediation is delivered by another provider.
In all cases, the review provides a clear starting point for next steps without locking your organisation into a particular delivery model.
Platform Expertise. Independent Assessment.
Defended Solutions holds partner status across AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. Our review engagements are conducted independently, by UK-based practitioners with extensive experience across commercial, public sector, and regulated environments.
All engagements are led by UK-resident, National Security Vetted (SC/DV) personnel.
Discover our Insights:
