Service
vCISO / CISO as a Service
A senior security leader on call, without a full-time hire.
A virtual CISO gives you senior security leadership without the cost and commitment of a full-time executive. We set the security strategy, prioritise the work, own the risk decisions and act as the point of contact for your board, customers and auditors.
This suits businesses that need direction and accountability at a senior level but do not yet have the scale to justify a full-time CISO. The engagement flexes with your needs rather than being a fixed seat.
What we run
Security strategy and roadmap
We define a prioritised security plan tied to your business risk, stage and commercial goals.
Risk register and decisions
We maintain the risk register and own the accept, mitigate or transfer decisions on your behalf.
Policy and governance framework
We set and maintain the policies, standards and governance structure that your programme runs on.
Board and customer representation
We present security posture to your board, answer customer security questionnaires and sit in front of auditors.
Vendor and third-party risk oversight
We oversee how supplier and third-party risk is assessed and tracked across the business.
Incident response leadership
We lead the response when an incident happens and guide the business through containment and recovery.
Frameworks we lead to
What's included
- A named senior security leader assigned to your business
- A security strategy and roadmap tied to your risk and goals
- Ownership of risk decisions and prioritisation
- Representation of security to your board, customers and auditors
- Oversight of your compliance and security programmes
- Incident response leadership and guidance when it is needed
What you walk away with
- Senior security direction without a full-time hire
- A clear owner for risk decisions and security strategy
- A credible security voice for your board, customers and auditors
How it runs
Assess
We start by understanding your business, risk and current security posture, so the strategy is grounded in reality.
Direct
We set a security strategy and roadmap tied to your goals, and prioritise the work that reduces the most risk.
Represent
We act as your security leader to the board, customers and auditors, answering the hard questions on your behalf.
Adapt
We review and adjust as the business and the threat landscape change, so the strategy stays current.
Why fractional
A vCISO gives you senior ownership at a level that fits your stage.
| A fractional vCISO | A full-time CISO hire | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Scaled to the involvement you actually need | A full executive salary and package |
| Time to start | A named leader engaged in weeks | A search that can run for months |
| Breadth | Draws on a studio across GRC, compliance and testing | One person's experience and bandwidth |
| Flexibility | Scales up and down as the business changes | A fixed seat regardless of workload |
What this supports
The vCISO owns the direction and governance that your compliance and certification efforts depend on.
- ISO 27001
- Provides the top management leadership and governance that ISO 27001 Clause 5 expects, and oversight of the Annex A controls.
- SOC 2
- Owns the risk assessment and governance activity behind the SOC 2 Trust Services Criteria, particularly the common criteria for control environment and risk.
- NIST CSF
- Directs the programme across the Govern, Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond and Recover functions of the framework.
FAQ
- What does a vCISO actually do day to day?
- Sets strategy, prioritises security work, owns risk decisions, oversees compliance and acts as the senior security contact for your board, customers and auditors. The focus shifts with what your business needs.
- How much time do we get?
- The engagement flexes to your needs rather than being a fixed seat. We agree the level of involvement up front and adjust it as your situation changes.
- Can a vCISO run our compliance programme too?
- The vCISO oversees it and sets direction. The hands-on delivery can be handled through our Compliance as a Service engagement so the leadership and the execution join up.
Related services
Related reading
The OWASP LLM Top 10, Explained: A Plain-English Guide for Teams Shipping AI Features
A clear, practical walkthrough of the OWASP Top 10 risks for large language model applications, with a plain-English description and a concrete mitigation for each, aimed at teams adding AI features for the first time.
9 min read
How to Read a Penetration Test (VAPT) Report: A Plain-English Guide for Teams
A practical walkthrough of what goes into a penetration test report, section by section, so founders and engineering teams can read one with confidence and act on what it says.
8 min read
SOC 2 vs ISO 27001: an honest comparison to help you choose
A plain-English guide to the real differences between SOC 2 and ISO 27001: what each one is, who asks for which, how the audits work, what you end up holding, and whether you should do both.
8 min read