How our virtual CISO could benefit your organisation

Protecting a business in the current cyber security threat landscape requires determination and a blend of technical and soft skills that are hard to find in a single individual. According to CISO Portal, a website that specialises in news for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs), this ranges from deep technical knowledge to analysis skills through to business and communications skills. Therefore, a virtual CISO, also known as a vCISO, could supplement an existing skillset in the organisation or provide a senior leader with the direction and drive for a business that cannot justify a full-time senior cyber security position on their payroll.

While there are several great reasons for having an experienced professional in the CISO role full-time, there are many advantages of employing the services of a vCISO.

A vCISO might be a single person or a group of people who each have their own particular skills and subject matter expertise. The benefits of a team are that every member can contribute their individual expertise to the company’s cyber security strategy and provide input when and where necessary. Today, the field has become so large and complex that it’s very difficult for one individual to possess the broad skillset that’s required to keep the business running safely, from setting a clear vision to applying risk analysis, and from building security architecture to developing compliance plans, all while communicating effectively at board level.

Multiple scenarios, one solution

A vCISO could be the perfect solution for a whole range of scenarios. This includes for small and medium-sized enterprises that don’t have the need for a full-time position, for those that need a strategy agreed upfront and then progress reviewed and challenges discussed on a regular basis, for companies that have mature IT teams that need coaching on cyber security skills, or even those that are just struggling to keep up with the fast-paced world of cyber security. In short, a vCISO is extremely flexible and scalable, and is available on-subscription.

Flexible, scalable and always available

Our vCISO is at your service year-round because we won’t provide just one expert, but a coordinated team of experts, each with their own area of speciality. Although working remotely, they’ll be embedded in your organisation from day one. Being an outside provider we’ll give impartial advice and an objective perspective that many organisations need, but often lack.

Also, because we’re always learning from multiple engagements, we’re always up to speed with the emerging and evolving threats and risks that we see elsewhere. We share proven good practices and lessons learnt to your advantage. This can take a lot longer with a single CISO – and in the fast-paced world of cyber security, time is critical.

Furthermore, while a single CISO needs to take annual leave or time off for other things in life, if there is a vCISO team on the case, they are accessible every day. And you won’t need to worry about hiring and retaining skilled professionals in a market that’s facing a huge dearth of cyber skills and ever-increasing salaries due to the competition for talent.

A large organisation with a CISO in place may still benefit from a vCISO

Even though large, complex organisations can often justify employing a single CISO in-house, the whole field of cyber security is now vast – and it keeps expanding. A single person in the role has to juggle a growing workload and risk burn-out. An in-house CISO may need a friendly face with whom to discuss strategies for resolving cyber security dilemmas, but also to help them with getting their whole business on board. A vCISO can provide this support.

Imagine what you can do with a vCISO

Just think what you can do with the vision to see the bigger picture in the short term and over the long term, and how you can perform with the best strategy to improve your security maturity on an ongoing basis. With ready access to deep experience and knowledge to make difficult decisions, you’ll be able to confidently plan for the future. Equipped with the expertise to meet industry regulations and compliance, minimising the risk of breaches and data loss, while supporting your organisation’s long-term goals.

Security matters, results count

While you’ll have unrivalled expertise at your service, we know that ultimately results count. So, our vCISO’s sole purpose will always be to help protect your assets, data, customers and brand reputation, to deliver the outcomes your organisation needs to perform at its very best.

Find out more about our vCISO service

Visit our Security Strategy & Virtual CISO page to delve deeper into the merits of a virtual CISO and how it can help you.