Expert Security Knowledge Within Your Organization

Take Advantage of the Benefits of a Virtual CISO and Make Your Business Provably Secure

Pivot Point Security’s Virtual Chief Information Security Officer (vCISO) services provide organizations with the expertise and guidance needed to ensure that their critical data is secure. Our team of experienced security professionals will work together with your organization to develop strategies for achieving the desired level of security maturity. We will help identify potential risks, develop control measures to reduce those risks, and implement policies and procedures for compliance with relevant regulations. We can provide operational support,(e.g.,compliance monitoring client security questionnaire response, vendor risk management, application security.) With Pivot Point Security’s vCISO services, you can rest assured that your organization is provably secure and compliant.

What is a virtual CISO (vCISO)?

A virtual CISO (vCISO) is just like a full-time, on-site Chief Information Security Officer.  They help an organization strategize, plan, and execute a sound, robust and viable information security program.  They combine the vision of executive leadership with the needs of securing the organization into a cohesive, actionable plan.  There is no difference between a traditional on-site, 40 hour per week CISO and the vCISO except the vCISO isn’t usually on-site constantly.  The use of technology today affords us the opportunity to interact with various teams without maintaining a physical presence.

What does a CISO or vCISO do?

Some of the tasks of a CISO include:

  • Managing the information security team
  • Interacting with executive management
  • Attending board of directors’ meetings giving them an update on the state of security in the organization
  • Policies, procedures, standards, and guidelines
    • Plan them
    • Write them
    • Present them to management for approval
    • Incident response and event management
    • Plan awareness training to disseminate the information to the organization
    • Publish them and then make yourself available to the organization for clarification on key points
  • Plan security infrastructure in alignment with direction from ‘the Board’

This is just a small subset of the almost fifty different tasks that a CISO would be called upon to perform.  With today’s tools, all of the above can be handled and managed by a vCISO with minimal onsite interaction.

What scenarios call for a vCISO Service?

  • Need the part time skills of a full time CISO
  • Need a strategic roadmap for compliance and security
  • A shortage of security talent and difficulty retaining security dedicated employees causes significant recruiting & HR “pain”
  • Your customers, partners or board members expect that someone has the “CISO” role
  • You need to prove you are demonstrably secure to key stakeholders (clients, board, auditors)
  • Lack of clear vision of where your security is now and/or where you want to go
  • Multiple compliance requirements of note and/or GDPR in particular
  • You need security experience in your industry (eg. SaaS, Legal, Financial)
  • You need talent capable of liaising with customers, CXO suite, and regulators
  • Need for someone with a CSO or CISO title for compliance
  • Need for someone with a DPO title for compliance

What does a remote/virtual CISO mean to your organization?

Information security risk has long been the ‘elephant in the room’.  Everyone knows it.  Everyone sees it.  You can’t avoid it but we pretend it isn’t happening, until it happens!  What is “it”?  The security event…an INCIDENT!  A CISO plans for these kinds of events.  A vCISO makes the same plans, anticipates issues and problems, and gets the backing of executive management to execute those plans, the one and only difference being that they don’t usually maintain a physical presence at the ‘office’.

Mid-tier and small businesses have long relied on outsourcing to close gaps.  From HR, to payroll, to IT,  organizations have learned to leverage the expertise of outsourcers to provide critical services when hiring someone full time proves to be counterproductive.  The same can now be said for hiring a vCISO.  In the past, hiring senior leadership (CEO, CFO, etc.) required an exhaustive search, every day without senior security leadership in place is a day closer to a catastrophic event.

Compare: CISO vs. vCISO

How will your organization benefit from our vCISO service?

  • Cost Savings – Gain the security expertise you need at a fraction of the cost
  • Clear Direction – Know where you are and where you are going on your security journey
  • Stronger Relationships – Build positive and secure relationships with management, clients, suppliers and other third parties
  • Reach Compliance – Know you are maximizing your ability to demonstrate compliance and minimizing the risk of dealing with a breach
  • Focus  – Have the peace of mind to focus on your business knowing that we are focused on security
  • Security Culture – Benefit from security-aware employees who reduce organizational risk and actively support a “security culture”
  • Dodge the Security Talent Shortage – Remove the HR expense of finding, paying and retaining top security talent

Additional benefits:

  • Vendor-Neutral advice – An outside perspective is a fresh and objective vantage point for Pivot Point Security to recommend the right course of action.
  • Virtual Security Team – Gain “on-demand” access to PPS’s security expertise across virtually all Information Security related disciplines.

What is a Virtual CISO?

A virtual Chief Information Security Officer (vCISO) often fills the same role as a full-time, on-site CISO except that a vCISO most often works remotely and doesn’t devote 100% of their working time to one organization. The role of a CISO or vCISO is to help an organization strategize, plan, and execute a robust cybersecurity program. This is an executive leadership and strategic/visionary position more so than a tactical/technical expert role. A vCISO provides guidance on “what to do,” but often delegates strategic implementation and operational tasks.

It is important to note that some vCISO offerings (like PPS’s)include the option to leverage a broader virtual Security Team that the vCISO can delegate these tasks to when your orgnization does not have sufficient expertise or bandwidth to do so.

What are Virtual CISO consulting services?

Some of the consulting services that a vCISO performs include:

  • Assessing and managing information and privacy risk
  • Managing the information security function
  • Ensuring compliance with contractual and legal requirements
  • Interfacing with other senior leadership, boards. regulators, and clients
  • Interfacing with other senior leadership, boards. regulators, and clients
  • Planning and guiding the execution of security infrastructure upgrades/changes

How does Virtual CISO work?

A vCISO usually works remotely with on-site visits as needed. vCISOs are usually paid on a monthly service cost based on the amount of time/effort required.

Where can I find a Virtual CISO podcast?

All the episodes of The Virtual CISO Podcast are available here: https://www.pivotpointsecurity.com/the-virtual-ciso-podcast/

How much does Virtual CISO consulting cost?

vCISO costs vary widely, from $25,000 to $100,000 per year. VCISO plus virtual security team engagements also vary widely, from $50,000 to $350,000 per year depending on the the services provided. In general, vCISO and virtual security teamsing arrangements are significantly less expensive than a full-time CISO and/or security team.