vCISO Services
Senior cybersecurity leadership. Monthly. No full-time hire required.
Strategic direction, executive presence, and accountability at a fraction of the cost of a full-time CISO.
A full-time CISO can cost over $250,000 a year. Benefits, recruiting fees, on-boarding time. For most mid-market companies, that's not the right investment, because what they actually need isn't a CISO for forty hours a week. They need one in the room when it counts.
Our vCISO service puts a senior cybersecurity executive in your corner on a monthly retainer. We own the strategic layer of your cybersecurity function: building and maintaining your risk management program, overseeing compliance obligations, preparing and delivering board-level reporting, and serving as incident commander when something goes wrong. We integrate with your team without replacing them.
What we are not is a managed security service. We don't watch your alerts. We don't configure your SIEM. We don't staff your help desk.
That's not what moves the needle on your security posture and it's not where the expertise you're paying for should be spent. We focus entirely on the strategic work that most organizations either skip or do poorly; making sure leadership has the information they need to make good decisions about risk, ensuring compliance obligations are being managed proactively, and making sure that if the worst case happens, you're not figuring out your response in real time.
What’s Included?
Risk management program ownership and ongoing maintenance.
Compliance program oversight across relevant frameworks and regulatory obligations.
Board and executive reporting. Developed, maintained, and delivered.
Cybersecurity strategic roadmap, updated as your business and threat environment evolve.
Incident response planning, including tabletop exercises with your team.
Incident command during active incidents, including breach communication support.
Regular briefings for executive leadership on emerging threats and industry developments.
WHO THIS IS FOR
Mid-market companies that have outgrown ad hoc security management but aren't ready for a full-time CISO. PE-backed companies where the fund requires evidence of cyber governance. Organizations preparing for SOC 2, ISO 27001, or a regulated industry audit. Any company facing board, insurer, or customer pressure to demonstrate mature cybersecurity leadership.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Engagements begin with a 30-day on-boarding period during which we assess your current state, meet your key stakeholders, and establish the program baseline. From there, retainer activity is calibrated to what's happening in your environment; more intensive during compliance cycles or incidents, lighter during steady periods. Minimum engagement is three months. Most clients retain us on an ongoing annual basis.
