International Security Consulting Risk assessments, response planning, insider threat programmes, fraud controls and investigative advice for organizations operating across borders

01Overview

What international security consulting covers

Security risks rarely stay inside one discipline. A payment fraud may begin with a phishing email, depend on weak supplier verification and be carried out by someone inside the finance team. A data theft may involve a departing employee, an unmonitored cloud account and a competitor in another country. A site security problem may turn out to be a corruption problem. Organizations that treat physical security, cyber security, fraud and compliance as separate silos often find the gaps between them only after an incident.

International security consulting looks across those silos and across borders. Delator's consultants help organizations understand which risks matter most in each country they operate in, which controls actually reduce those risks, and how to respond when something goes wrong. The work is practical: written assessments that leadership can act on, plans that people can follow under pressure, and advice that reflects how operations really run rather than how a policy says they should.

Clients are usually senior people with broad responsibility and limited time: general counsel dealing with an allegation abroad, chief financial officers worried about payment fraud, chief information security officers who need an independent view, compliance heads designing programmes for regulators, and chief executives preparing to enter a new market. The advice is written for them, in plain English, with technical detail available for the teams who implement it. Good international security consulting also respects the client's existing investments: the aim is to make current teams, tools and providers more effective, not to replace them with a new layer of process that nobody owns.

02Service model

Who provides the advice, and how local licensing is respected

Delator Group is a private investigation firm licensed in Tennessee and headquartered in Nashville. Its international security consulting is delivered by Delator's own consultants. They include people with U.S. military intelligence and Department of Homeland Security backgrounds, former law enforcement officers from many types of agencies, former bail enforcement agents, and technology specialists across cyber security, cloud, digital forensics and data analysis. The wider Delator network holds a broad range of licences and certifications. These are the backgrounds of the people involved and do not imply endorsement by any agency.

Consulting is advisory work: assessing, planning, designing, reviewing and advising. Where an engagement needs an activity that local law reserves for licensed or registered investigators, such as surveillance or background checks on individuals, that part is completed by a locally licensed partner in Delator's network. If a client's scope includes background checks on employees or individuals, Delator leverages a locally licensed partner in its network to complete that work and does not do it itself.

Some needs are traditional private investigation rather than consulting, such as surveillance of a person, locating an individual or a personal background check in another country. Delator refers that work to a vetted investigator in its network who holds any licence local law requires and who contracts with the client directly. Delator's consultants can still help the client define what it needs and review the results.

03Risk assessment

Security risk assessments for multinational organizations

A security risk assessment answers three questions: what could go wrong, how likely is it, and how bad would it be? The value lies in being specific. A generic list of threats, such as terrorism, cyber attack and fraud, tells leadership nothing. A useful assessment says that the sales office in one country holds customer data on an unmanaged file server, that the plant in another relies on a single guard contractor whose staff turn over every few months, and that the treasury team in a third approves supplier bank changes by email.

Delator's assessments draw on ISO 31000 for the overall approach to risk management and on recognized security frameworks, such as ISO/IEC 27001 and the NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0, for information security controls. Consultants combine document review, interviews with local and group staff, site visits where useful, and a review of country-level factors such as crime patterns, political stability, corruption risk, data protection law and the reliability of local security providers. The result is a ranked list of risks with clear recommendations, owners and indicative effort.

Assessments can cover a whole group, a single country, a single site or a single risk, such as payment fraud or executive protection. Many clients start with a focused assessment of their highest-risk location or process and expand from there. In international security consulting, a narrow first assessment has another advantage: it shows leadership what a finished deliverable looks like and how recommendations will be tracked, which makes the case for wider work easier to judge on its merits.

04Incident response

Incident response planning across jurisdictions

Most organizations have an incident response plan. Fewer have one that works across countries, covers incidents other than ransomware, and has been tested by the people who would actually use it. When a serious incident happens, the first hours determine much of the outcome: whether evidence is preserved, whether the right people are called, whether regulators are notified on time and whether public statements are accurate. A good plan makes those decisions easier.

Delator's consultants help organizations write or update incident response plans and playbooks that reflect current guidance, including NIST SP 800-61, which was revised in 2025 to align with the NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0, and ISO/IEC 27035 on information security incident management. Plans cover roles and decision rights, escalation thresholds, evidence preservation, engagement of outside counsel and forensic support, communications, and coordination between group and local teams.

Notification deadlines are one of the hardest parts of cross-border response, because they differ by law and by sector and can run in parallel. A plan should list the deadlines that apply to the organization, who decides whether each one is triggered, and who makes each notification. The table below shows several widely applicable examples. It is not exhaustive, and the obligations of any specific organization depend on its sector, size and locations.

05Exercises

Tabletop exercises that test the plan with real decision-makers

A plan that has never been exercised is a hypothesis. Tabletop exercises put the people named in the plan into a realistic scenario and ask them to make the decisions they would face. Delator designs scenarios around the client's own risks: a ransomware attack that stops production in one region, a deepfake call that leads to a large payment, a whistleblower allegation of bribery by a local agent, the theft of trade secrets by a departing engineer, or a security incident affecting staff travelling abroad.

Scenarios unfold in stages, with new information arriving as the exercise progresses: a regulator calls, a journalist asks for comment, a local manager is unreachable, the forensic firm needs a decision on whether to shut down systems. Participants work through their roles, and Delator's facilitators record decisions, delays, disagreements and gaps in the plan. Exercises can be held for executives, for technical teams or for both, and can include regional teams across time zones.

The exercise report is short and practical, and it is shared with everyone who took part so that lessons are not confined to the security team. It lists what worked, what did not, which decisions took too long, which contacts were missing and which parts of the plan need to change. Many clients run one executive exercise and one technical exercise each year, rotating scenarios so that different risks are covered over time.

• Scenarios built from the client's actual risk profile
• Executive, technical and combined formats
• Injects covering regulators, media, staff, customers and law enforcement
• Regional participation across time zones
• After-action report with specific plan updates

06Insider threat

Designing insider threat programmes that respect local law

Insider threats come from people who already have legitimate access: employees, contractors, partners and former staff whose access was never removed. Some act deliberately, stealing data, committing fraud or sabotaging systems. Others cause harm through carelessness or because an outsider has manipulated them. Because insiders are trusted, ordinary security controls often do not see what they do. An insider threat programme is the set of governance, controls and processes that lets an organization detect and respond to that risk proportionately.

Delator's consultants help organizations design programmes that fit their risk and their legal environment. Public guidance, such as the Carnegie Mellon CERT work on insider threat, gives a useful foundation: senior sponsorship, a cross-functional working group including HR, legal, security and IT, clear policies, technical controls such as data loss prevention and privileged access management, joiner, mover and leaver processes, and a defined path from concern to inquiry to formal investigation.

International programmes must respect very different rules on employee monitoring. Data protection law in the European Union, the United Kingdom and many other countries requires monitoring to be necessary, proportionate and transparent, and in some countries employee representatives must be consulted before monitoring measures are introduced. A programme that is lawful in one country may not be lawful in the next. Delator designs programmes with these differences built in, and works alongside the client's employment and privacy counsel.

Core elements of an insider threat programme

• Governance: sponsor, working group, charter and oversight
• Policies on acceptable use, monitoring transparency and reporting concerns
• Technical controls proportionate to the data and systems at risk
• Leaver processes that remove access promptly and recover devices and data
• A triage process that separates performance or HR issues from security concerns
• Escalation to a formal investigation with clear legal oversight

07Fraud controls

AI-enabled fraud and payment control reviews

Business email compromise and payment diversion have long been among the most costly forms of fraud for companies. Generative AI has made them easier to carry out and harder to spot: messages are now fluent in any language, and voices and faces can be imitated convincingly. A widely reported 2024 case in Hong Kong, in which an employee of a multinational engineering firm transferred around US$25 million after a video call with deepfaked colleagues, showed that even a live video call is no longer reliable proof of identity.

The effective response is to design payment and approval processes that do not depend on recognizing anyone. Delator's consultants review the full chain: how suppliers are onboarded, how bank details are changed, how urgent payments are approved, how executives' requests are verified, how treasury systems are secured, and how staff are encouraged to slow down when something feels wrong. Findings often include simple, effective controls such as mandatory callbacks to known numbers, dual approval for changes to bank details and a cooling-off period for first payments to new accounts.

Fraud controls also carry legal weight. In the United Kingdom, the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 created a corporate offence of failure to prevent fraud, which came into force on 1 September 2025 and applies to large organizations, with a defence of having reasonable fraud prevention procedures in place. Organizations with UK links are reviewing their controls with that offence in mind, and an independent review can help show that procedures were considered and proportionate.

• Supplier onboarding and bank detail change verification
• Approval thresholds, dual control and urgent payment handling
• Executive request verification, including code words and callbacks
• Treasury and banking platform access controls
• Staff guidance for recognizing and escalating suspicious requests

08Investigative consulting

Investigative consulting for legal and compliance teams

When an allegation arises in another country, such as bribery by a local agent, fraud by a regional manager, harassment, theft of trade secrets or a sanctions concern, legal and compliance teams have to make quick decisions with incomplete information. Who should investigate? Should outside counsel be engaged to protect privilege? What evidence needs to be preserved today? Which local laws affect interviews, document collection and data transfer? Mistakes in the first days can damage the investigation and expose the company.

Delator's consultants help those teams scope and plan investigations. They help define the questions the investigation must answer, map the people, systems and documents involved, set out evidence preservation steps, identify where forensic support is needed and recommend the right structure, including working under the direction of counsel where privilege matters. Where local licensing applies, the plan specifies which work must be done by a locally licensed partner in Delator's network, and Delator coordinates that work.

Data and evidence rules vary widely. Some countries restrict the transfer of personal data abroad, and some, including China under its data security and personal information protection laws, impose specific controls on moving data and on providing information to foreign authorities. Investigations in those places can be difficult, and the plan needs to reflect that from the start. Delator is not a law firm and works alongside the client's counsel, but its consultants have practical experience of how these constraints affect investigative work and will answer any question a client has.

Where investigative consulting typically helps

• Initial triage of whistleblower reports and allegations
• Investigation plans, work streams and budgets
• Evidence preservation and chain of custody guidance
• Selection and coordination of local licensed partners
• Review of findings for gaps before reporting to boards or regulators
• Remediation and control improvements after the investigation

09Travel and sites

Travel risk and site risk reviews

Employers have a duty of care toward staff who travel or work abroad. ISO 31030:2021, the international standard on travel risk management, gives a structured approach: assess the risks of each trip or posting, put proportionate controls in place, prepare staff, monitor conditions and be ready to respond. Many organizations have travel policies but little practical support for the trips that carry real risk.

Delator's consultants prepare travel risk reviews for executives, project teams and staff visiting higher-risk locations. Reviews cover the destination's security conditions, crime patterns that affect business travellers, transport and accommodation choices, communication and check-in arrangements, medical and evacuation considerations, and how to respond to incidents such as detention, theft or civil unrest. Advice is specific to the itinerary, not a generic country summary.

Site risk reviews apply similar thinking to new or existing locations. Before a company leases an office, opens a plant or chooses a warehouse, Delator can review the neighbourhood, access routes, crime patterns, availability and quality of local security providers, utility resilience and the building's own security features. For existing sites, a review identifies the most important improvements and, where needed, recommends a physical penetration test to check that controls work in practice.

• Trip-specific risk assessments for higher-risk destinations
• Pre-travel briefings and check-in arrangements
• Incident response procedures for travellers
• Site selection reviews before leases or acquisitions
• Security reviews of existing offices, plants and warehouses

10Programme reviews

Security programme reviews, mergers and new market entry

Organizations often need an independent view of their security programme at moments of change: a new chief information security officer arrives, the board asks for assurance, an acquisition closes, or the company enters a new country. A programme review looks at governance, people, processes and technology, compares them with a recognized framework such as NIST CSF 2.0 or ISO/IEC 27001, and produces a prioritized roadmap.

Acquisitions bring particular risks. The acquired company may have weaker security, unknown insider risks, undisclosed incidents or integrity problems with agents and suppliers. Delator's consultants can review security posture before and after closing and recommend what must be fixed before networks are connected. Integrity due diligence on the company's third parties is a related but separate service, and background checks on individuals are completed by a locally licensed partner.

Entering a new country combines many of these questions at once: where to locate, how to protect staff, which partners to trust, how to handle local security providers, how local law affects monitoring and investigations, and how the new operation fits the group's incident response plan. International security consulting at this stage costs far less than fixing problems after the operation is running.

11Board reporting

Reporting security risk to boards and audit committees

Boards are increasingly expected to oversee security risk directly. Public companies in the United States must describe their cybersecurity risk management and governance in annual reports under the SEC's 2023 disclosure rules, and directors of entities covered by NIS2 in the European Union carry explicit responsibility for approving and overseeing cybersecurity risk-management measures. Even where no rule applies, investors, insurers and lenders ask how the board knows that security risk is under control.

The difficulty is translation. Security teams report in the language of vulnerabilities, alerts and patch levels, while boards need to know which risks could materially harm the business, how those risks are changing and whether investment is going to the right places. International security consulting can help bridge that gap. Delator's consultants help organizations design board reporting that combines a small number of meaningful indicators with plain narrative: the top risks by country and business line, recent incidents and near misses, results of testing and exercises, and the status of agreed improvements.

Independent input also helps boards challenge management constructively. A periodic external review of the risk register, the incident response plan or the results of a red team exercise gives directors a view that does not depend entirely on the people who run the programme. Delator writes those reviews for a board audience, with the detailed evidence available to management and auditors.

• A short set of risk indicators that leadership can track over time
• Top risks by country and business line, with owners
• Incidents, near misses and lessons learned
• Results of testing, exercises and independent reviews
• Progress against the agreed security roadmap

12Engagement models

How international security consulting engagements are structured

Engagements take two main forms. Fixed-scope projects, such as a risk assessment, an incident response plan or a payment control review, have a defined objective, a written scope, an agreed timeline and a set of deliverables. Advisory retainers give an organization ongoing access to a Delator consultant for questions, reviews and support as issues arise, which suits clients who face a steady stream of cross-border questions.

Each engagement has one lead consultant who owns the relationship, the plan and the quality of the advice. Other specialists join as needed, for example a cyber specialist for an incident response plan or a former law enforcement officer for a site review. The lead keeps the client informed, flags any part of the work that requires a locally licensed partner, and makes sure the final deliverables are consistent and usable.

Delator's advice is written for action. Reports state findings plainly, rank recommendations, explain the reasoning and identify who should own each action. Where a client needs testing to confirm that controls work, Delator can follow advice with penetration testing, physical penetration testing or social engineering exercises carried out by its own consultants under written authorization.

• Fixed-scope projects with defined deliverables
• Advisory retainers for ongoing support
• One lead consultant per engagement
• Specialists added as the work requires
• Optional testing to verify recommendations

13Getting started

Choosing where to start

Most organizations do not need everything at once. A good starting point is usually the risk that keeps a senior leader awake at night, or the one that a recent near miss has exposed. For a CFO that might be payment fraud. For a general counsel it might be the ability to investigate an allegation in a difficult jurisdiction. For a CISO it might be an untested incident response plan across regions. For a chief executive it might be the security of staff in a new market.

An initial conversation with Delator's consultants identifies that starting point, the information already available and what a proportionate first engagement looks like. Often the first project is small and focused, and it leads to a broader roadmap once leadership sees where the real gaps are. International security consulting is most effective when it builds on what the organization already does well rather than replacing it.

Throughout, the aim is the same: clear, honest advice that helps leadership make good decisions about risks that cross borders, delivered by people who have seen how those risks play out in practice.

Step by step

How an Engagement Works

1. 01

   Initial conversation

   Delator's consultant discusses the client's concerns, locations and existing work to identify the right starting point.

2. 02

   Written scope

   A proposal sets out objectives, activities, timeline, deliverables and any part requiring a locally licensed partner.

3. 03

   Information gathering

   Consultants review documents, interview staff at group and local levels, and visit sites where useful.

4. 04

   Analysis

   Findings are tested against recognized frameworks and the client's own risk appetite.

5. 05

   Draft findings

   The client reviews draft findings and recommendations so facts can be checked and priorities discussed.

6. 06

   Final deliverables

   Delator delivers the final report, plan, playbooks or programme design with a debrief for leadership.

7. 07

   Follow-through

   Delator can support implementation, run exercises or arrange testing to confirm improvements.

Deliverables

What You Receive

• Security risk assessment reports with ranked risks, owners and recommendations
• Incident response plans and playbooks reflecting cross-border notification duties
• Tabletop exercise scenarios, facilitation and after-action reports
• Insider threat programme designs with governance, controls and escalation paths
• Payment and AI-enabled fraud control reviews with practical redesign recommendations
• Investigation plans and evidence preservation guidance for legal and compliance teams
• Travel risk reviews and site risk reviews for specific locations
• Security programme roadmaps benchmarked against NIST CSF 2.0 or ISO/IEC 27001

Industries

Who Uses Security consulting Services

• Manufacturing and industrialPlants, supply chains and contractors across several countries create combined physical, cyber and integrity risks.
• Financial servicesRegulators expect tested incident response, strong fraud controls and clear notification procedures across jurisdictions.
• Technology and SaaSRapid growth, remote workforces and valuable intellectual property make insider threat and incident planning priorities.
• Energy and natural resourcesOperations in higher-risk locations require travel, site and community security planning alongside corruption risk management.
• Pharmaceutical and life sciencesResearch data, regulated products and global trials create espionage, diversion and data protection exposure.
• Professional servicesFirms handling client funds and confidential matters face payment fraud and impersonation that controls must address.
• Private equity and investorsAcquisitions and portfolio companies abroad need security and integrity reviews before and after closing.

Credentials

Who Does the Work

Delator Global's consultants come from backgrounds where finding facts under pressure is the job: U.S. military intelligence, the Department of Homeland Security, former law enforcement officers of every kind, former bounty hunters, and technology specialists across networks, applications, forensics and data. Behind them sits a network of locally licensed partners holding a wide range of licences and certifications, so every part of an engagement is done by someone entitled to do it in that country.

• Military intelligenceCollection planning, analysis and reporting discipline.
• Homeland securityFederal investigative and border, trade and financial crime experience.
• Law enforcementInterviewing, evidence handling and courtroom testimony.
• Bail enforcementLocating people who do not want to be found, lawfully.
• TechnologyNetwork, application, cloud and forensic specialists.
• Licensed partnersLocal licences for the work local law reserves.

Related services

Related Delator Global Services

• CorporateInternational Corporate InvestigationsInternational corporate investigations rarely stay inside one legal system.
• CorporateInsider Threat InvestigationsInsider threat investigations examine what happens when someone with legitimate access, an employee, contractor, partner or former staff member, uses it to take data, steal trade secrets, commit fraud or cause harm.
• CyberCyber InvestigationsCyber investigations establish what happened during a security incident or digital fraud, how the attacker got in, what they touched, and what evidence exists to support recovery, notification and legal action.
• Penetration testingInternational Penetration TestingDelator Global provides international penetration testing for companies whose systems, offices and data sit in more than one country.
• Penetration testingSocial Engineering Testing and Red Team ExercisesDelator Global runs social engineering testing and red team exercises for organizations that want to know how their people, processes and defences hold up against a determined attacker.

Every Delator Global service

Countries

Where Delator Global Works

Delator Global handles matters in 152 countries, with a country page for each and a city page for every city over 200,000 people. Larger markets are listed below; the full list is on the international page.

• United Kingdom
• Canada
• Mexico
• Germany
• France
• India
• Brazil
• Australia
• Japan
• United Arab Emirates
• South Africa
• Nigeria
• China
• South Korea
• Spain
• Italy
• Netherlands
• Poland
• Turkey
• Philippines
• All 152 countries