With the rising number of cybersecurity threats, companies of all sizes are faced with the need to fortify their defenses and protect their digital assets.

Still, the deficit in skilled cybersecurity professionals and the steep costs of hiring a full-time, in-house CISO can prove to be quite challenging, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises

In the recent past, virtual CISOs, or vCISOs, have emerged as game-changing solutions, providing organizations with a cost-effective and flexible manner of engaging top-tier cybersecurity expertise.

But the real questions are…

• Who is a vCISO?
• What benefits do they bring to your business?
• And, how much does a hiring one cost?

This guide is dedicated to answering these questions.

Read on…

A vCISO

Before we delve into the intricacy of who a vCISO is, who is a CISO?

The Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) supervises senior management duties to lead organizational information security programs. As their main responsibility, CISOs create and enforce defensive strategies along with implementing policies and procedures to shield companies from cyber threats against their digital resources and infrastructure. Any experienced CISO leads an organization through security risk identification and mitigation practices while developing protocols for handling incidents boosting employee security awareness and maintaining modern security controls and cyber rules.

The virtual CISO (vCISO) serves as an outsourced cybersecurity professional to deliver crucial guidance for information security similar to what an internal CISO would provide. Organizations seek virtual CISO services through third-party consultants or service providers when they need consultation on contractual and project levels.

The vCISO concept has experienced widespread adoption over recent times among small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) because these companies lack sufficient budget and resources for a permanent full-time CISO position.

        Benefits of a Virtual CISO (vCISO)

1. Cost Reduction

One of the most powerful advantages of bringing on a vCISO rather than a full-time, in-house CISO is cost savings. Hiring a full-time CISO can be an expensive undertaking for an organization, with salary figures often in the range of $150,000 to $300,000 per year, not counting benefits and bonuses. Hiring a full-time CISO involves major financial costs that exceed salary amounts because organizations must also pay benefits and taxes and face expenses related to space, equipment, and similar assets needed to support the role.

Conversely, organizations can obtain vCISO services according to their needs which enables them to gain access to top cybersecurity experts without requiring contracts for ongoing employment of an internal CISO. Industry experts confirm the payment for a vCISO service is set at one-third of the sum paid for permanent CISO employment.

2. Access to Diverse Expertise

Virtual CISOs typically have broader exposure to different types of organizations compared to a full-time, in-house CISO, who might have more niche and narrow expertise. That’s because vCISOs work with a variety of organizations across different industries and sectors. Having this exposure allows vCISOs to provide their services with a fresh perspective and a robust comprehension of winning practices and familiar strategies across the multiple environments and domains in which they operate. Drawing on their experiences with the unique cybersecurity challenges and approaches of these different domains, vCISOs translate that knowledge back to their clients in the form of more complete and customized solutions.

3. Flexibility and Scalability

Engaging a vCISO offers organizations flexibility and scalability in managing cybersecurity resources and investments. Because a vCISO can be brought in for a project or a defined period, they make it easy for businesses to scale cybersecurity support up or down according to emerging needs. In fact, a vCISO is often a go-to resource for rapidly developing projects. This evolution is most crucial for associations operating in fluctuating surroundings or encountering a landscape of fast-moving changes in cybersecurity.

Take, for instance, the same association moving through a digital transformation or broadening its reach into new marketplaces; it would, during the pivot period, require an increased amount of direction and support in the area of cybersecurity. By having a vCISO, the association would have immediate access to the needed expertise without there being a long-term commitment to a new, full-time employee.

4. Objective and Independent Advice

As mentioned above, a vCISO is an external consultant who is not part of the organization. This externality means they are not privy to the politics, biases, or interests that can sometimes interfere with decisions made in an organization. A vCISO that operates from outside the organization, as a consultant, is also less likely to be influenced by these factors. An unbiased external vCISO can provide an organization with a truly objective review of the strengths, weaknesses, and underappreciated areas of its cybersecurity posture.

Such independent validation can be extremely useful in identifying blind spots, challenging long-held assumptions, and driving meaningful change in an organization’s cybersecurity strategy and practices.

5. Compliance and Regulatory Experience

Entities found in very tightly controlled domains, like finance, healthcare, or government, need to follow many laws and standards. But compliance is not easy. If you’re found not complying, the penalties can be severe and involve huge fines, a lot of legal busywork, and a damaged reputation. A virtual CISO has the experience needed to ensure compliance. VCISOs interpret and implement the regulatory frameworks with which their clients need to comply. Their experience covers a wide range of regulations, including: – GDPR – HIPAA – PCI DSS – NIST cyber security standards This experience allows them to offer clarity on the compliance mandates that are particularly relevant to an organization’s specific industry.

Bonus Benefit: Focused Security Leadership

Organizations engaging a vCISO will benefit from dedicated and focused security leadership; this is something that most businesses, especially SMEs, can never afford. Unlike an in-house CISO working full-time, who is also involved with so many operational responsibilities and priorities, a vCISO works with a full focus on strategic initiatives so that the organization’s security posture receives dedicated attention.

                       How much does a vCISO cost?

 Addressing the elephant in the room. 

The pricing model for virtual CISO services depends on multiple elements that encompass service levels. Basic security assessments combined with policy creation require a less expensive virtual CISO than the one that delivers continuous management and incident response services.

Virtual CISO pricing depends on three aspects:

• provider experience in different industries
• Organization size
• Contract length period.

Virtual CISO services most often use three distinct pricing structures for their operations (hourly rate, monthly retainer, and project-based costs). Whichever you find fit for your needs.