The security leader your business needs — without the full-time hire.
A full-time CISO costs a fortune and most SMBs don't need one full-time. A Virtual CISO gives you the same seniority — strategy, decisions, board and client reporting, audit oversight — on a retainer sized to your business. Someone senior owning security, so you don't have to.
What your Virtual CISO actually does
Not another consultant handing you a report. A senior owner who sits in your corner and carries security as a responsibility — week to week.
Sets the strategy
Decides what to protect, in what order, on what budget — a security roadmap tied to your business goals, not a generic checklist.
Owns governance & risk
Runs your GRC cycle — policies, risk register, and decisions — so security has an owner, not just a folder nobody reads.
Speaks to the board
Translates security into business language for leadership and investors — risk, cost, and progress they can actually act on.
Handles audits & clients
Faces your auditors and enterprise customers, answering security questionnaires and standing behind the evidence.
Leads in a crisis
When an incident hits, someone senior is already accountable — coordinating response and the CERT-In clock, not improvising.
Guides your team & vendors
Gives your IT people and suppliers direction and holds them to it — raising the whole organisation's security bar over time.
Full-time CISO vs Virtual CISO
- Major fixed cost, hard to justify at SMB scale
- Months to recruit — if you can attract one
- Often over-qualified for your current stage
- Single point of failure if they leave
- Right-sized retainer — scale up or down as you grow
- Senior from day one, no recruitment lag
- Exactly the seniority you need, when you need it
- Backed by a whole team and the SHIELD framework
Three intensities. We fit the one you need.
Every business is at a different stage, so the vCISO engagement flexes. Start light, go deeper when it matters — no rigid packages.
Advisory
- Monthly strategic guidance
- Security roadmap & priorities
- Policy & governance direction
- On-demand advice for big decisions
Embedded
- Everything in Advisory
- Runs your GRC program & risk register
- Oversees the SHIELD audit & remediation
- Board & client security reporting
- Vendor & audit questionnaire handling
On-call
- Incident response leadership
- CERT-In reporting support
- Audit & certification crunch support
- Escalation point for your team
Security became a leadership problem — quietly
Rules with deadlines
DPDP (full compliance by 13 May 2027) and CERT-In's six-hour rule need someone accountable — not a task shared by people already stretched thin.
Clients ask "who owns security?"
Enterprise customers want a named security leader before they sign. "Our IT person handles it" increasingly loses the deal.
Too big to ignore, too small to hire
You've outgrown ad-hoc security but can't justify a full-time CISO. That awkward middle is exactly where a vCISO fits.
From first call to security owned
Discovery call
We learn your business, your stage, and what's keeping you up at night — no cost, no obligation.
Baseline
A SHIELD-based read of where you stand, so the vCISO starts with facts, not guesses.
Right-size
We agree the intensity — Advisory, Embedded, or On-call — that fits your needs and budget.
Run it
Your vCISO takes ownership — strategy, program, reporting — and security stops being your problem to carry alone.
vCISO questions we hear most
Give security an owner — starting with one conversation.
Tell us where your business is and what's worrying you. We'll show you what a Virtual CISO would take off your plate, and the right intensity to start with — no pressure, no fixed package.