Senior security leadership, without the full-time hire.
Plenty of organisations need a security leader long before they can justify a full-time CISO. A virtual CISO brings that seniority at the scale you need.
- Enterprise customers are asking:
- named security leadership that can answer due diligence.
- Running a certification push:
- one accountable owner for the roadmap, from start to audit.
- A named, accountable security leader
- Strategy tied to business goals, not tool lists
- Board-ready reporting on an agreed cadence
- Documented to hand over to an in-house CISO
What is a virtual CISO?
A virtual CISO (vCISO) is an experienced Chief Information Security Officer who works with you on a fractional basis. They own strategy, governance and board-level communication, scaled to what you actually need. It's leadership, not a tool, and not a substitute for your engineers.
What a vCISO owns
- Security strategy
- Policy and governance
- Risk management
- Board and investor reporting
- Compliance roadmap
- Incident leadership
What you get back
- A multi-year roadmap
- A policy framework
- A risk register
- Reporting leaders can act on
- Customer due-diligence support
- A handover path
vCISO
Leadership that scales with you
Intensity flexes: heavier during a certification push, lighter in steady state, and documented so an in-house CISO inherits something coherent.
Named security leadership helps satisfy enterprise customers, insurers and investors during diligence.
Six areas a vCISO leads
Strategy
A multi-year roadmap tied to business objectives.
Governance
Policies, committees and an accountability model.
Risk management
Assessment, treatment and reporting into business risk.
Board reporting
Technical posture in terms directors act on.
Incident leadership
Senior decisions during incidents, and the review after.
Where a vCISO helps most
- SaaS startups
- Fintech
- Healthcare
- AI companies
- Managed services
- Growing teams
The trigger is usually an enterprise customer's questionnaire, a certification such as SOC 2 or ISO 27001, an investor's diligence, or no one owning security at executive level.
Browse plain-language security guides in the Resources libraryWho needs a virtual CISO?
Organisations that need security leadership but not yet a full-time executive. The role sits between the board, the business and your technical team.
01 · The board
Directors and investors
- Risk in plain terms
- Regular reporting
- Diligence questions
Need security translated into decisions.
02 · The vCISO
Your security leader
- Strategy and roadmap
- Governance and policy
- Compliance oversight
- Incident leadership
Accountable for the programme, at the scale you need.
03 · Your team
Engineers and operations
- Security staff
- Engineering leads
- IT and operations
Get direction, standards and priorities.
If nobody owns security at leadership level, or customers keep asking who does, a vCISO fills the gap.
A vCISO can direct and mentor your security staff. Formal line management usually stays internal, with the vCISO setting strategy and standards.
How a vCISO engagement runs
Six steps, each with a named output. Engagement intensity flexes with your needs and is agreed up front.
- Consult
Consultation
We understand your business, current maturity, obligations and what leadership gap you're filling.
- Business context
- Maturity
- Obligations
- Leadership gap
- You get
- A shared view of what the role must do.
- You provide
- Time with leadership and an overview of your obligations.
- Assess
Readiness assessment
We assess your security posture, team capability and any existing programme.
- Posture
- Team capability
- Existing programme
- Gaps
- You get
- A ranked view of gaps and strengths.
- You provide
- Access to documents, systems and people.
- Build
Strategy & remediation
We build the strategy and roadmap, then begin executing against it with your team.
- Roadmap
- Governance
- Risk register
- First priorities
- You get
- A strategy, roadmap and governance framework.
- You provide
- Owners for each priority.
- Monitor
Monitoring
We keep a regular cadence: programme oversight, metrics and steering as priorities shift.
- Programme oversight
- Metrics
- Steering
- Board reporting
- You get
- Reporting on an agreed cadence.
- You provide
- A standing review slot with leadership.
- Audit
Audit coordination
We lead certification efforts, customer security reviews and due diligence.
- Certification
- Customer reviews
- Due diligence
- Auditor liaison
- You get
- Answers and evidence for reviewers.
- You provide
- Evidence from your teams, on request.
- Handover
Ongoing support & handover
We provide continuous leadership, with a defined handover path if you later hire in-house.
- Continuous leadership
- Documentation
- Handover plan
- Transition
- You get
- A documented programme a successor can inherit.
- You provide
- Your decision on when to hire in-house.
There's no one-size commitment: it depends on your maturity, obligations and goals. The scope and level of involvement are agreed in writing up front and reviewed as your needs change.
What you receive
The engagement builds one leadership file. Each item is paired with the question a board, an investor or a customer asks about it.
Each priority has an owner and a status in the board pack, so progress is visible and checkable, not asserted.
A vCISO isn't a certificate; it's accountable leadership. Boards, auditors and customers judge it by clear ownership, a credible plan and progress they can see.
01, Build phase: Security strategy and roadmap
A multi-year roadmap tied to business objectives.
02, Build phase: Governance framework
Policies, committees and accountability.
03, Assess phase: Posture assessment
Posture, team capability and ranked gaps.
04, Build phase: Enterprise risk register
Risks with treatment plans.
05, Monitor phase: Board reporting pack
A board-ready pack on an agreed cadence.
06, Audit phase: Compliance roadmap
Obligations aligned with commercial priorities.
07, Audit phase: Customer due-diligence support
Answers and evidence for customer and investor reviews.
08, Handover phase: Handover documentation
A programme documented for an in-house successor.
Illustrative example, not client data
What one risk entry looks like
- Risk
- No tested plan for a customer-data breach
- Business impact
- Delayed response, customer and contract exposure
- Rating
- High
- Treatment
- Write the plan and run a tabletop exercise
- Owner
- Head of Engineering
- Status
- In progress, reported to the board
Four common vCISO misconceptions
Each one is common, reasonable, and the reason leadership gaps linger.
Assumption 01
Assumption: A vCISO is just a consultant who writes policies.
What a vCISO actually is
A vCISO owns the programme: strategy, governance, risk and reporting, with accountability.
Assumption 02
Assumption: They'll replace our security engineers.
What a vCISO actually is
A vCISO sets strategy and standards. Your team still builds and operates the controls.
Assumption 03
Assumption: A regulator will never accept it.
What a vCISO actually is
Many frameworks need a designated accountable individual, not necessarily an employee. Where a regulator mandates an employed officer, we say so up front.
Assumption 04
Assumption: It's a permanent arrangement.
What a vCISO actually is
It's designed to hand over cleanly when you hire a full-time CISO.
Heard one of these from your team? A conversation about the role shows what you actually need.
Talk to a vCISOWhat you can hold us to.
We don't publish client logos next to findings; we keep our clients' security posture private. These are the commitments we make instead.
Our commitments
Experienced practitioners lead
Every engagement is led by experienced security leaders.
Plain-language reporting
Reports a board can read, without translation.
Written scope and change control
You know what is covered, and what happens if needs change, before work starts.
Built to hand over
Everything is documented, so an in-house CISO inherits something coherent.
Want to speak to a client? Ask for a reference while we scope your work and we'll arrange it directly.
Ask for a referencevCISO questions buyers ask
How much time does a vCISO commit?
Agreed up front and reviewed as needs change.
It varies. Organisations preparing for certification or responding to an incident need more; steady-state programmes need less. The commitment is agreed up front and reviewed as needs change.
Give security a leader before you need one.
Tell us the situation
Your business, who is asking about security, and any certification or review on the horizon.
We scope the role
We respond within 24 hours, then agree the scope and level of involvement in writing.
Your security leader
You get a named vCISO, a first assessment and a roadmap your leadership can act on.
- Enterprise customers are asking:
- named security leadership that can answer due diligence.
- Running a certification push:
- one accountable owner for the roadmap, from start to audit.
A vCISO leads and advises. They don't replace your engineers, and don't provide legal advice; your counsel signs off on legal positions.