In the rapidly evolving world of cybersecurity, businesses of all sizes are struggling to keep up with the latest threats. One way to stay ahead of the curve is to hire a virtual CISO (vCISO), or virtual chief information security officer.
In this blog post, we explain the role and responsibilities of a vCISO and offer advice for determining when you need to hire a vCISO and how to find the right person for the job.
What Is a vCISO?
A vCISO is an experienced and highly-trained security professional who provides guidance and advice on all aspects of cybersecurity, from developing a comprehensive strategy to implementing innovative technologies. This is an outsourced position and vCISOs typically work on a temporary or ongoing contract basis to handle an organization’s security and compliance programs.
Unlike a traditional CISO, who is usually based in-house, a vCISO often works remotely for multiple organizations. This makes vCISOs more affordable and accessible for small and midsize businesses that can’t afford to hire someone in a full time CISO role.
A vCISO can bring a fresh perspective to your security program, helping you identify new risks and opportunities. Whether you're just starting to build your cybersecurity program or looking to take it to the next level, a vCISO can be a valuable asset.
What Role Does a vCISO Play in Organizations?
The vCISO role is to provide expert cybersecurity guidance and support to organizations. In many cases, a vCISO will be brought in to help an organization assess and improve its cybersecurity posture. They may also be called upon to provide strategic advice on cybersecurity initiatives, spearhead the development of new cybersecurity policies, or lead incident response efforts in the event of a breach.
In addition to having extensive technical expertise, vCISOs need to be well-versed in business risk management and have a keen understanding of the ever-changing threat landscape. As such, they are uniquely positioned to help organizations navigate the challenges of today’s digital world. While the day-to-day duties of a vCISO may vary depending on the needs of the organization, they all share one common goal: to keep the company's information safe.
Key components of the vCISO role include:
- Ensuring compliance with all relevant laws and regulations, for example, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This includes staying up to date on changes to the law and ensuring the company's practices are in line with those changes.
- Monitoring the security events taking place within the company’s information systems and taking appropriate actions in response.
- Ensuring all employees—from executives to entry-level staff—participate in appropriate security awareness training on a regular basis. This helps ensure that everyone understands the importance of security and knows how to identify potential threats.
- Understanding the importance of aligning risk management with a business’s overall goals.
In addition, vCISOs often serve as a liaison between the security team and other departments within the organization, such as human resources or legal.
When Does a Company Need a vCISO?
While some businesses may feel that they don't need the help of a vCISO, there are several situations where hiring one can be the right move.
- Enterprise organizations: These companies typically have a well-rounded security department including a full-time CISO. But if this role becomes vacant for even a short period of time, for example, due to illness, during a planned succession period, or due to a surprise resignation, an interim vCISO could be a good option.
- Mid-sized companies: These companies usually need consistent guidance from a CISO, but may not be ready to hire one on a full time basis. In this case, hiring a vCISO as a part time security leader could be the ideal solution.
- Small businesses: Startups and other small businesses often know they have security needs but are unsure how to address them. They might not have any staff members who are knowledgeable about security. These companies can contract a vCISO on a retainer model so that they have someone to reach out to when they have questions about compliance and general security issues.
- Post-incident and remediation services: After a specific incident such as a cyber attack or data breach, as the incident response process is completed, the organization will review lessons learned. A vCISO can be involved in this process to help identify and facilitate remediation actions.
- Risk assessment response: Risk assessments are helpful tools for an organization to review its cybersecurity practices and discover what improvements can be made. But implementing risk assessment action items isn’t always straightforward. A vCISO can be contracted to help in this situation on a short-term basis.
The exact role of a vCISO will depend on the size and type of the company, the specific engagement, the company’s business model, its information technology model, and other factors.
Why Are vCISOs Becoming More Prevalent?
As businesses become more reliant on technology, it’s natural that all information security team member roles, including that of CISO, have become increasingly important. But there are several reasons why vCISOs are becoming more prevalent. First, the demand for CISOs has outstripped the supply. This has made it difficult for businesses to find qualified candidates for the role.
The consultant nature of the vCISO role means that companies don’t have to hire locally or worry about moving expenses. It also means that vCISOs have the advantage of working with information security programs in a diverse range of organizations, experience that can be used to each new client’s advantage. In addition, vCISOs can be more cost-effective than traditional CISOs as businesses don’t have to pay for the overhead associated with full-time employees, such as benefits and office space.
Finally, vCISOs can provide flexibility and scalability that organizations may not be able to achieve with a traditional CISO. For example, a vCISO can be hired on a short-term basis to help with a specific project or transition period.
4 Key Qualities to Look for In A vCISO
When looking for a vCISO, there are a few core qualities to look for:- Qualifications and credentials
- Suitable experience
- Hands-off approach
- Business acumen
Let’s look at each of these in more detail:
1. Qualifications and Credentials
When looking for a vCISO, the first key quality to look for is whether or not the individual has ever been a CISO. The term vCISO has become somewhat of a “buzzword.” Many security professionals claim to be a vCISO, even when they don’t have adequate experience or credentials.
Organizations often think they are signing up with a qualified individual but are later disappointed. A large reason for this is lack of professional oversight of this relatively new role. The managed service provider model seeks to tackle this by building trust around the profession. By finding a vCISO through a reputable cybersecurity partner, companies can avoid being duped by unqualified candidates.
2. Suitable Experience
A vCISO is not a one-size-fits-all role, and these professionals come with a range of different skill sets. As the client, it’s important to do your due diligence and understand what your requirements are. Are you heavily regulated? Do you deal with state or federal contacts? Do you need PCI certification or HIPAA compliance?
Once you’ve defined your needs, look for a vCISO who specializes in those areas. A good place to start is to look for a service provider who has strong relationships with firms complementary to your own.
3. Hands-Off Approach
Many companies lack understanding of information technology. And although they view it as complex and mysterious, they often expect one person to handle every aspect. For example, businesses might anticipate a vCISO to have a very hands-on approach. For example, they may expect a vCSIO to handle tasks such as firewall management and active directory configurations.
On the contrary, a CISO should be taking a hands-off approach by leading and managing the people who execute tasks. In fact, if you see a vCISO taking a practical approach (effectively taking on the role of a security engineer), this could be a red flag that this person is inexperienced or unqualified for the position.
4. Business Acumen
A vCISO should never become known as the ‘Department of No.’ In fact, a qualified and experienced vCISO brings business management experience to any project, understanding the importance of balancing risk management with security and compliance requirements. The right vCISO will determine how to manage both the success of the business and the advancement of security priorities, so all parties involved understand the expected scope, direction, and outcome.
Looking for more information about the role of a vCISO and whether you should hire one?
Check out our interim CISO page or contact us to find out more.
