Virtual CISO
A security leader on your leadership team from week one. For companies that need a CISO's judgement before they can justify a CISO's salary.
Someone just asked who owns security.
It is rarely a breach that makes the case. It is a deal, a due diligence or a regulation that needs a named, accountable security leader, and nobody on the team has the time or the mandate.
- An enterprise prospect sends a 300-question security review.
- Investors want your security posture in due diligence.
- NIS2 or DORA makes management personally accountable.
Three ways to fill the seat.
Most companies weigh the same three options. Only one gives you senior judgement and working controls without a six-figure hire.
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01
Hire a full-time CISO
The right answer at scale. Before that, a long search, a senior salary and equity, for one person who still needs a team to implement anything.
time to impact: months -
02
Hire a compliance consultancy
Fast to start and good at documents. The policies arrive; the decisions, the controls and the accountability stay with you.
output: documents -
03
nesec Virtual CISO
A named, senior CISO in your leadership meetings, owning the decisions. Backed by nesec engineers who ship the controls those decisions call for.
output: decisions + shipped controls
Your priority first. Value in weeks, not quarters.
There is no standard programme. We start from what made you call, whether that is a stalled deal, an audit date or a board meeting, and shape everything else around it.
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first weeks
Solve what is urgent
The questionnaire answered, the audit scoped, the board briefed, the incident contained. Whatever brought us in gets handled first, while we learn your business.
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next
Agree what matters
A clear view of your risks in business terms and a roadmap sized to your stage, your customers and your regulators. Priorities you set with us, not a template.
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ongoing
Lead and adapt
Your CISO runs the roadmap and our engineers ship the controls. When your priorities change, a new market, a new regulation, a new product, the plan changes with them.
The job, not just the title.
Every month, your Virtual CISO carries what a full-time CISO would. You get one accountable name, not a ticket queue.
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01
Board & leadership
Security reported in business terms. Risk, spend and progress your board can question and approve.
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02
Customer trust
Security questionnaires, customer audits and sales calls answered by a CISO, so deals stop waiting on security.
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03
Compliance
ISO 27001, SOC 2, NIS2, DORA and GDPR security. The programme run end to end, through to the auditor.
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04
Risk & budget
A living risk register, vendor reviews, and a security budget spent where it reduces the most risk.
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05
Incident leadership
An incident plan that has been rehearsed, and a CISO who leads the response, the regulators and the communication when it matters.
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06
Team & succession
Security habits built into engineering, and when the time comes, the hiring of your full-time CISO and a clean handover.
Advice is cheap. Implementation is the job.
Most virtual CISOs stop at the recommendation. Ours sits in front of an engineering team that builds the controls, configures the cloud, automates the evidence and ships it into production. See how we run our own internal controls.
A CISO's judgement. An engineering team's output.
Built for the years before a full-time CISO.
If you already have a security leader with a team behind them, you do not need us in this role.
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Scale-ups
Selling to enterprise customers whose security reviews now decide the deal.
stage: growth
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Regulated
In scope for NIS2, DORA or sector rules that demand named, accountable security leadership.
scope: regulated
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In transition
Between CISOs, or preparing to hire one and needing the programme, and the job description, ready first.
seat: interim
Fill the seat this month.
Tell us what is pushing security up the agenda. We will tell you where we would start.
Book a 30-minute call →