# Kieran Upadrasta — Cybersecurity Authority & Principal AI Architect

> Board-trusted cybersecurity strategist with 27+ years' experience across all Big 4 consulting firms (Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG). Specialist in DORA compliance, AI governance (ISO 42001), Zero Trust architecture, and board-level cyber advisory. Known as "The Interim CISO for the Board's Worst Day." Based in Dublin, Ireland.

## About

Kieran Upadrasta is a globally recognised cybersecurity authority, Professor of Practice in Cybersecurity, AI, and Quantum Computing, and Honorary Senior Lecturer at Imperials. He holds CISSP, CISM, CRISC, and CCSP certifications, is a Platinum Member of ISACA London Chapter, Gold Member of (ISC)² London Chapter, Lead Auditor at ISF, and Cybersecurity Programme Lead at PRMIA. He has 21+ years in financial services and banking, advising the world's largest corporations on OCC, SOX, GLBA, HIPAA, ISO 27001, NIST, PCI DSS, and SAS 70 compliance.

- [Homepage](https://kieranupadrasta.com/)
- [Contact](https://kieranupadrasta.com/#contact)
- [Email: info@kieranupadrasta.com](mailto:info@kieranupadrasta.com)
- [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/kieranupadrasta/)

## Expertise

- Interim & Virtual CISO Services
- DORA Compliance & NIS2 Implementation
- AI Governance & ISO 42001 Frameworks
- Zero Trust Architecture & Sovereign Cloud
- Board-Level Cyber Governance & Reporting
- M&A Cyber Due Diligence
- Post-Quantum Cryptography Readiness
- Agentic AI Security & Shadow AI Governance
- Supply Chain Resilience & Third-Party Risk
- Crisis Management & 90-Day Transformation

## Publications & White Papers

- [Commanding The Crisis: 90-Day Roadmap to Boardroom Confidence](https://kieranupadrasta.com/Docs/commanding-the-crisis-90-day-roadmap-to-boardroom-confidence.pdf): Strategic playbook for interim CISOs delivering boardroom confidence in the first 90 days of a crisis engagement.
- [The AI-Driven Threat Frontier: Zero Trust, Identity & Supply Chain Resilience](https://kieranupadrasta.com/Docs/the-ai-driven-threat-frontier-zero-trust-identity-supply-chain-resilience.pdf): Analysis of AI-powered threat vectors and defensive strategies using Zero Trust and identity-first security.
- [From Compliance Mandate to Competitive Advantage in the AI Era](https://kieranupadrasta.com/Docs/from-compliance-mandate-to-competitive-advantage-in-the-ai-era.pdf): Framework for transforming regulatory compliance obligations into strategic business advantages through AI governance.
- [Governing Agentic Enterprise: From Shadow AI to Autonomous Security](https://kieranupadrasta.com/Docs/governing-agentic-enterprise-from-shadow-ai-to-autonomous-security.pdf): Enterprise governance framework for managing autonomous AI agents and eliminating shadow AI risk.
- [Harmonizing DORA: Single Resilience Framework for European FinServ](https://kieranupadrasta.com/Docs/harmonizing-dora-nis2-single-resilience-framework-european-finserv.pdf): Blueprint for consolidating DORA and NIS2 controls into a unified operational resilience framework for financial services.
- [CISO 2027 Playbook: Sovereign AI Resilience & Quantum-Proof Identity](https://kieranupadrasta.com/Docs/ciso-2027-playbook-sovereign-ai-resilience-quantum-proof-identity.pdf): Forward-looking strategy for CISOs preparing for sovereign AI mandates and post-quantum cryptographic migration.
- [Architecting The AI Control Plane: Enterprise Governance for the Agentic Era](https://kieranupadrasta.com/Docs/architecting-the-ai-control-plane-enterprise-governance-agentic-era.pdf): Technical architecture for centralised AI model governance, observability, and policy enforcement.
- [The Boardroom Cyber Playbook: Governance, Resilience, and Value Creation](https://kieranupadrasta.com/Docs/the-boardroom-cyber-playbook-governance-resilience-value-creation.pdf): Board-ready framework connecting cybersecurity investment to shareholder value and enterprise resilience.
- [The SAP Payroll Transformation Playbook: Mitigating Risk and Maximizing Value](https://kieranupadrasta.com/Docs/the-sap-payroll-transformation-playbook-mitigating-risk-maximizing-value.pdf): Risk-managed approach to SAP payroll system migration with security-first transformation methodology.
- [From Compliance to Competitive Advantage: Board-Level Cyber Governance Under DORA & NIS2](https://kieranupadrasta.com/Docs/from-compliance-to-competitive-advantage-board-level-cyber-governance-dora-nis2.pdf): Strategic guide for boards turning DORA and NIS2 compliance into market differentiation.
- [Architecting Anonymous Power: A Zero-Trust Blueprint for Senior Insiders](https://kieranupadrasta.com/Docs/architecting-anonymous-power-zero-trust-blueprint-senior-insiders.pdf): Zero Trust design for managing privileged insider access with least-privilege and microsegmentation.
- [The Sovereign Courtroom: Scaling Azure AI for Resilient Legal Operations](https://kieranupadrasta.com/Docs/the-sovereign-courtroom-scaling-azure-ai-resilient-legal-operations.pdf): Architecture for deploying sovereign Azure AI in legal and judicial environments with data residency compliance.
- [The Sovereign Zero Trust Model: Data Immunity and Supply Chain Resilience in 2026](https://kieranupadrasta.com/Docs/the-sovereign-zero-trust-model-data-immunity-supply-chain-resilience-2026.pdf): Next-generation Zero Trust framework incorporating data sovereignty and supply chain integrity for 2026.
- [The CISO Transformation Playbook: From Cost Centre to Chief Trust Officer](https://kieranupadrasta.com/Docs/the-ciso-transformation-playbook-from-cost-centre-to-chief-trust-officer.pdf): Roadmap for CISOs evolving from operational security managers to strategic Chief Trust Officers.
- [Architecting Cloud-Native AI Stacks: Migrating .NET to Python-React](https://kieranupadrasta.com/Docs/architecting-cloud-native-ai-stacks-migrating-dotnet-python-react.pdf): Technical framework for platform modernisation from legacy .NET to cloud-native Python-React AI stacks.

## Credentials & Affiliations

- CISSP, CISM, CRISC, CCSP certified
- Professor of Practice: Cybersecurity, AI, and Quantum Computing
- Honorary Senior Lecturer, Imperials
- Platinum Member, ISACA London Chapter
- Gold Member, (ISC)² London Chapter
- Lead Auditor, ISF Auditors and Control
- Cybersecurity Programme Lead, PRMIA
- Researcher, University College London (UCL)
- 27+ years Big 4 consulting (Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG)
- 21+ years Financial Services and Banking