Kathryn Renaud

Guest contributor

Clear, balanced briefings that let the reader decide.

Kathryn is a guest contributor and a professional cybersecurity analyst. Her strength is clarity and balance: clean, well-structured pieces that read like a competent briefing, with no wasted words.

Where the regular cast each have a clear editorial angle, Kathryn presents the landscape evenly. If there are two reasonable approaches, she sets out both, weighs the pros and cons, and lets the reader decide.

Measured is not the same as bland. She knows her subject deeply, never assumes the reader does, and supports her opinions with evidence rather than personality.

5 articles by Kathryn Renaud

A small business owner reviewing a router and laptop together in a bright UK office, representing everyday devices as part of identity security

How AI Is Changing State-Sponsored Cyber Threats for UK SMBs

26 April 2026

State-sponsored attackers are reaching small businesses through the systems they already rely on. Here is how to spot it and respond.

Suspect a Breach? Act Now: A Practical UK SMB Playbook

8 March 2026

Most of the real damage from a data breach does not happen during the initial compromise. It happens in the scramble afterwards. Someone panics and wipes a server. Someone else coordinates the response through the email account that is already compromised. A well-meaning manager posts on social media before anyone understands what happened. The first hour determines whether this becomes a bad day you recover from or a business-ending week you do not. This playbook walks you through exactly what

DUAA: The "Keep Calm and Build a Workflow" Act 

14 February 2026

The Data (Use and Access) Act just went live on 5 February, and if you're only hearing about it now, you're not alone. The commencement regulations were published two days before the provisions kicked in. That's the government's idea of adequate notice. Guest contributor Kathryn Renaud cuts through the panic with something actually useful: four repeatable workflows for DSARs, complaints, cookies, and automated decisions that any UK SMB can build this week with tools they already own. No expensiv

When Your Firewall Vendor Starts Dropping Weekly CVEs

29 January 2026

Your firewall vendor just announced another critical vulnerability. Last week brought two more. Last month? Six. When does "routine security update" become a vendor reliability crisis that threatens your business? For UK SMBs running Fortinet or SonicWall, the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue tells an uncomfortable story: your perimeter security is under active, documented attack. This isn't vendor marketing or compliance theatre. This is your board-level "do we stay or do we leave

UK SMBs Left in the Crosshairs

21 December 2025

If you run a small or medium-sized business in the UK, the government just sent you a message: you are on your own. The November 2025 Cyber Security and Resilience Bill protects hospitals and power grids. It does not protect you. Of 5.5 million UK SMBs, exactly zero gained new cybersecurity protection. This was deliberate policy. Meanwhile, 43% of UK businesses experienced breaches last year, costing an average £3,550 per incident. Germany took a different approach—and it works. This article giv