Virtual CISO: seasoned security leadership, without a full-time hire

Why a Virtual CISO?

Many organisations need CISO-level input on security strategy, governance, and board reporting, but do not yet have the scale, budget, or hiring conditions for a full-time CISO. A Virtual CISO gives you access to that experience on a fractional basis — a named security leader who understands your organisation, works with your existing teams, and provides clear direction on priorities, risk, and investment.

• No in-house CISO, but growing security and compliance demands
• Board or regulator expectations around cyber risk oversight
• ISO 27001, ISO 42001, or other frameworks without clear ownership
• Need to turn existing security activity into a coherent programme

What our Virtual CISO service includes

We tailor each vCISO engagement to your context, but the core components are consistent so you know what to expect from the role.

• Security strategy and roadmap aligned to your business objectives
• Risk assessment and prioritisation of security initiatives
• Governance structures, roles, and reporting lines for cyber security
• Oversight of key security controls and improvement activities
• Input into policies, standards, and security-by-design practices
• Support for frameworks such as ISO 27001, ISO 42001, NIST CSF, or CIS
• Board and senior management reporting on risk and progress

How a vCISO engagement works

The engagement model is flexible, but we usually structure Virtual CISO work around a set of recurring steps so you get continuity and measurable progress.

• Onboarding and discovery — building a clear picture of your business, technology landscape, existing controls, and current pain points
• Risk and maturity baseline — assessing current security posture to identify gaps and priorities
• Strategy and roadmap — agreeing a realistic security roadmap with near-term actions and longer-term improvements
• Ongoing leadership and oversight — continued direction, decision support, and coordination across security initiatives
• Board and stakeholder reporting — regular updates to senior stakeholders in clear, business-focused language

Virtual CISO and ISO standards

A Virtual CISO can play a central role in designing and running management systems for standards such as ISO 27001 and ISO 42001, ensuring security and AI governance are handled consistently rather than as separate projects. That can include aligning risk assessment methods, coordinating internal audits and management reviews, and making sure security and AI-related initiatives support the wider business strategy and risk appetite.