Hiring a full-time Chief Information Security Officer can be time consuming and expensive. To some companies, even cost-prohibitive. But having a CISO in your toolbox can also bring immeasurable value to your organization. The CISO’s skills can help a growing organization enhance its security program, keep it on track, and guide in times of crisis and change.

You need a CISO who is Agile.

Being a CISO is a tough job. Expectations are high, they may be stepping into a crisis, and they have to inspire trust within their engineering team and the C-suite. Not many personalities can do both. Your CISO has to be nimble enough to gracefully traverse all of these variables. My deep experience in hands on cyber-security and I.T. Administration, coupled with my years as a Senior Security Architect and Security Operations Manager make me perfectly suited to this task.

You need a CISO that can speak many languages.

Unlike some IT leaders, the CISO is not confined to just communicating with IT departments. Your CISO will be tasked with communicating strategies to board members, non-technical executives, front-line employees and customers alike. A good CISO has to be able to effectively communicate with each tier of your business. I speak the language of the your I.T. staff in the field, and I speak the language of your C-Suite executives in the board room as well.

Your CISO Must Use Their Right Brain as Much as Their Left Brain.

A great CISO will demonstrate creativity and flexibility that matches their expertise in IT. A good incoming CISO will have their own playbooks and preferred processes. However, a GREAT CISO will be able to adjust and customize their approach based on your organization’s unique structure and variables. The result should be one that enhances the overall security program in a way that increases security awareness and visibility while reducing uncertainty and risk. I bring to the table a balance of both technical intelligence and situational awareness is important to your business. I am able to successfully merge my cyber-security vision with your organization’s reality.

You need a CISO That Has Been Around the Block A Few Times.

I have worked in specialized regulatory environments, like PCI-DSS, HIPAA, FIPS and others. I have participated in numerous tabletop exercises simulating a cyber-security breach. And I have been the Incident Commander during real-time hacking attacks against large enterprise environments. I have learned from the process and will bring that knowledge into your organization. I am prepared to handle the high-stress environment of a cyber breach, including keeping clear sight of roles, responsibilities and critical communications. 

You need a CISO who can Understand, Quantify and Measure Risk.

The quantification of risk is something that many CEOs, CFOs and board members are thinking about and beginning to ask for. The fact is, quantifying risk has always been both an enormous challenge and somewhat of a holy grail for information security leaders. Your CISO needs to be the person to establish and/or optimize the information security measurement framework and manage the execution of it from the top down.

You need a CISO, but not full time, all the time.

As a virtual Chief Information Security Officer (vCISO) I can provide  companies of all sizes across all industries with executive-level guidance and leadership in Cyber-Security, but without the costs of hiring a full-time “C-suite” employee. This allows organizations in today’s constantly changing threat landscape to develop a security vision, strategically plan for the future, and properly budget and uphold the integrity of the program.

As your Virtual CISO, I will partner with you as a trusted member of your leadership team to develop and maintain a company security vision and strategy by:

• Conveying industry trends and leading the team in properly architected solutions.
• Developing long-term security and compliance plans.
• Cyber-Security budgeting and forecasting.
• Assessing risk appetite and applying this to program development.
• Determining the proper security framework(s) with which your company must comply.
• Providing guidance and direction in achieving any compliance requirements your  company may have.
• Acting as an objective resource for boards of directors to rely on for advice and guidance independent of bias.

vCISO Pricing

The Virtual Chief Information Security Officer service can provide any business a depth of knowledge and breadth of experience that will give you peace of mind in knowing you are leaning on the expertise of the best, at a fraction of the cost of a full-time employee. In addition, I offer subscription-based tiered pricing to fit the budget of organizations of all shapes and sizes. I can offer you a CISO that is there when you need him, and not when you don’t. This makes the cost of a Chief Information Security Officer predictable and easier to budget.

Click here to contact me, and we can discuss specific services and pricing packages.