Free Cyber Security Roadmap Application: From quick wins to long-term resilience
We’re delighted to share a new thought piece from our partners Cyber Alchemy, which sets the scene for their upcoming talk at our Northern FinTech Summit 2025 in York, this October 1st-2nd.
In financial technology, where innovation moves quickly and trust is everything, cyber security can feel like an endless puzzle. Founders and executives know they need to invest, but often struggle with the same questions: Where do we start? What should we prioritise? How much will it cost?
For many FinTech businesses, cyber security becomes either a box-ticking exercise or a reactive response to a crisis. Both approaches come with risk: underinvesting can lead to costly breaches, while overspending on the wrong solutions drains resources that could fuel growth. What’s missing is clarity – a way to see, in plain language, what matters most right now and how to plan for the future.
That’s the challenge Cyber Alchemy set out to solve. This September, the company launched Alchemy Navigator, a free cyber security maturity tool designed to give leaders practical guidance in minutes.
The problem: complexity without clarity
Cyber security is notoriously complex. Technical teams talk in acronyms, frameworks, and standards, while boards focus on budgets, risk, and regulation. It’s easy for communication to break down. The result? Decisions get delayed, investments are misaligned, and responsibility becomes fragmented.
This is especially acute in FinTech. Start-ups and scale-ups face scrutiny from regulators, investors, and partners, but often lack the resources for a full-time Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). Executives are expected to make security decisions that are both technically sound and commercially viable, a tough balance without clear guidance.
Meanwhile, cyber threats are escalating. Ransomware attacks, phishing campaigns, and supply-chain compromises dominate the headlines. Clients expect reassurance that their financial data is safe. Regulators are tightening oversight. Investors demand evidence of resilience.
Against this backdrop, many leaders confess they feel overwhelmed. They know cyber security matters but don’t know how to benchmark where they are today, or how to prioritise improvements in a way that’s proportionate, affordable, and effective.
A practical solution: Alchemy Navigator
Alchemy Navigator was created to address that gap. Created by Cyber Alchemy, the app is free and has been live since September 2025. Its mission is simple: take the mystery out of cyber security planning.
The app offers two ways to build a cyber security roadmap:
– Quick-start mode: By answering fewer than ten questions about company size, sector, and information usage, leaders receive a ready-made roadmap tailored to their profile. This is ideal for time-poor executives who want clarity fast.
– Detailed mode: For organisations seeking deeper insight, the app presents 51 questions covering governance, technology, people, and processes. The result is a bespoke roadmap that pinpoints strengths and gaps with far greater precision.
Both routes end with clear, practical outputs. Users see their priorities mapped as high, medium, or low risk, along with indicative cost levels to help frame investment decisions. For convenience, a personalised PDF report can be emailed directly, giving leaders something tangible to share with colleagues, boards, or investors.
Importantly, Alchemy Navigator is GDPR-compliant. The only data collected are the answers provided and, if the user opts in, their email address for report delivery. There is no hidden agenda: no paywall, no upsell, no marketing without explicit consent.
Why it matters for FinTech leaders
The value of Alchemy Navigator isn’t just in the outputs, but in how it changes the conversation. For founders and boards, it provides a common language to discuss cyber security without getting lost in technical jargon. For managers and IT leads, it offers a neutral, evidence-based framework that can support business cases for investment.
For scaling FinTechs that may not yet have a dedicated security function, Alchemy Navigator acts as a virtual compass. It highlights the areas that truly matter for resilience — whether that’s securing cloud infrastructure, strengthening access controls, or building staff awareness — and sets them against a backdrop of realistic cost expectations.
For more mature firms, the tool offers a way to benchmark existing capabilities and demonstrate a proactive stance to regulators, partners, and investors. It signals that cyber resilience is not a side project, but part of the organisation’s long-term strategy for growth and trust.
In both cases, Alchemy Navigator reduces paralysis. Instead of being overwhelmed by a thousand possible actions, leaders walk away with a focused plan: what to do now, what to plan for later, and where to allocate resources.
From fear to strategy
Cyber security conversations are often dominated by fear: fear of hackers, fear of fines, fear of reputational damage. While those risks are real, they can obscure a more empowering truth: cyber resilience is an enabler of growth.
When leaders know their risks and priorities, they can make confident decisions. They can demonstrate to clients and partners that their business is trustworthy. They can satisfy investors that governance is robust. And they can focus energy on innovation, knowing their foundations are strong.
That’s the real power of the Alchemy Navigator. It shifts the dialogue from firefighting to forward planning. From compliance to confidence. From fear to strategy.
Neil Richardson, Managing Director of Cyber Alchemy, explains the vision behind the tool:
“We built Alchemy Navigator to demystify cyber security for leaders. Too many organisations feel paralysed by jargon or overwhelmed by technical detail. Navigator strips that away. In minutes, any business can see where they stand, what to prioritise, and what it might cost. It’sabout giving control back to leaders, so they can focus on resilience, growth, and customer trust.”
Taking the first step
For FinTech leaders, cyber security can sometimes feel like an endless uphill climb. But with the right tools, the path becomes clearer. While Alchemy Navigator doesn’t replace expert consultancy or compliance obligations, what it does is provide a clear, accessible first step, grounded in practical priorities.
Whether you’re running a fast-growing start-up or managing an established institution, the message is the same: cyber resilience is achievable, and it starts with knowing where you are today.
Alchemy Navigator is available now, free of charge. To try it, visit: https://roadmap.cyberalchemy.co.uk
About Cyber Alchemy
Cyber Alchemy is a CREST-accredited cybersecurity company that helps organisations transform from vulnerable targets into resilient, trusted businesses. With expertise spanning penetration testing, vCISO services, resilience planning, and training, Cyber Alchemy works with clients across finance, healthcare, and technology. The company combines technical excellence with a people-first approach to deliver clarity, confidence, and long-term protection.
