Virtual CISO

vCISO services led by two experienced CISOs

Get senior security leadership without a full-time executive hire. Our virtual CISOs assess your program, close quick wins first, then build the roadmap, policies and reporting your board, auditors and customers expect.

Talk to a vCISO See what’s included
  • Two CISOs assigned to every engagement
  • Named a top vCISO company by Cyber Security Review
  • Lite, Pro and Elite tiers
Security advisor speaking on a video call

Top virtual CISO services company

Recognized by Cyber Security Review

Two CISOs per engagement

Broader expertise and continuity, onsite and remote

Quick wins first

Early fixes while the longer roadmap takes shape

Maturity you can track

NIST-based scoring on a GRC platform

Advisor meeting with a client at a table

Virtual and fractional CISO

What a virtual CISO does for you

A virtual CISO is an experienced security leader who runs your information security program on a part-time or retained basis. The role is the same as a full-time CISO: set strategy, own risk, guide the team and report to leadership. You get it without the cost and hiring risk of a full-time executive.

Fractional CISO services and virtual CISO services describe the same model. Our CISOs work with your IT staff or an outside team, and they speak for your security program to your board, executives, auditors and regulators when you need them to.

What’s included

vCISO services that cover the whole program

Your tier sets how many of these we take on and how deeply we are involved. Every engagement starts with the assessment.

Business risk assessment

A NIST-based maturity assessment of your program and the business risks behind it.

Risk assessment

Security roadmap

A prioritized plan that folds in projects already under way.

Infosec leadership and guidance

A senior voice on decisions, tools, vendors and staffing.

Policy and procedure

Policies, standards and procedures written for how you operate.

Security compliance management

Readiness and upkeep for SOC 2, HIPAA, CMMC, ISO 27001 and more.

Compliance services

Board and executive leadership

Clear reporting on risk, progress and the decisions leadership needs to make.

Incident response planning

IR plans, escalation paths and tabletop exercises to test them.

Tabletop exercises

Security culture

Awareness programs and habits that make security part of daily work.

How it works

Quick wins first, then a roadmap you can follow

1

Assess

Your CISOs review your environment, policies and controls and score program maturity against NIST.

2

Close quick wins

We fix the gaps that are simple to close and reduce real risk, so progress starts in the first weeks.

3

Build the roadmap

Discovery sessions bring your in-flight projects into one prioritized roadmap with owners and dates.

4

Lead and report

We run the program with you, track maturity over time and report progress to leadership.

vCISO tiers

Lite, Pro and Elite tiers

Every tier gives you the same two-CISO team and the same starting assessment. The tiers differ in scope and depth of involvement: how many program areas we own, how often we meet with your team and leadership, and how hands-on we are in compliance, incident planning and culture work.

We recommend a tier after the scoping call, based on your size, regulatory load and internal staff. You can move between tiers as your program matures.

Sample maturity dashboard

How we show progress

Your vCISO program runs on a GRC platform that maps controls to your frameworks and tracks maturity over time. Illustrative view, not client data.

  • Maturity by NIST CSF function, current and target
  • Framework coverage for SOC 2, HIPAA or CMMC
  • Open risks by owner and due date
  • Roadmap progress quarter over quarter
Colleagues meeting in an office

Why two CISOs

Two CISOs give you depth and continuity

One person rarely has deep experience in every area a CISO covers. Assigning two CISOs to each engagement gives you a wider range of government and private sector experience and a second leader who already knows your program if one is unavailable.

They work through a mix of onsite and remote support, and they draw on the rest of Triden when a question needs a penetration tester, an incident responder or a network engineer.

Case study

From SOC 2 project to ongoing vCISO for an accounting firm

A Southern California accounting firm with more than 200 professionals and offices in Los Angeles and Orange County came to us to reach SOC 2 compliance. We assessed its environment, mapped the path and put the controls in place.

Once the firm was compliant, it kept us on as its vCISO. We guide its decisions on security policy, risk management and compliance, and help it choose and acquire the security tools that fit its needs.

  • SOC 2 compliance for a firm handling sensitive client PII
  • Ongoing strategic guidance from a virtual CISO
  • Security tool recommendations matched to the firm’s needs
Read the case study

FAQ

vCISO questions, answered

A vCISO, or virtual chief information security officer, is an experienced security leader who runs your security program on a part-time or retained basis. They set strategy, manage risk, write policy and report to your leadership and auditors.

In practice they’re the same service. Both give you part of a senior security leader’s time on a recurring basis. We use vCISO, and every engagement includes two CISOs.

Cost depends on your tier, the number of frameworks you need to meet, the size of your environment and how often you need your CISOs in meetings or onsite. After a scoping call we recommend a tier and give you a fixed monthly proposal.

When you need senior security leadership but not a full-time executive, or while you grow toward hiring one. A vCISO is also common when a customer, auditor or regulator starts asking who owns security.

Yes. Our CISOs work with healthcare organizations on HIPAA risk analysis and with credit unions on NCUA expectations, board reporting and vendor oversight.

Yes. Our CISOs work with internal staff or outside IT teams, and they can use Triden engineers for remediation work if you want one team to handle it.

Related services

Related services

GRC and compliance

Framework readiness, managed GRC and policy development.

Compliance services

NIST CSF assessment

Score your program against CSF 2.0 and set a target profile.

NIST CSF

SOC 2 readiness

Prepare your controls and evidence before the audit.

SOC 2 readiness

vCISO in San Diego

vCISO and compliance from our San Diego headquarters.

San Diego

Talk to a vCISO

Put experienced security leadership in place

Tell us about your organization and an advisor will reply by email to set up a scoping call with our vCISO team.

  • A recommended tier based on your needs
  • A first view of the quick wins available to you

Prefer email? Write to [email protected] or call (858) 712-0040.

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