CISO advisory services

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The Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) plays a vital role in establishing, transforming, and maintaining your organization’s security strategy and functional program to protect critical assets and data, enable business initiatives, and drive alignment with regulatory compliance efforts. The unplanned expansion of the virtual office and resulting exposure to untrusted platforms has compounded the complexity of designing and executing essential program functions without compromising system integrity or disrupting business operations.

Even the most experienced CISOs can benefit from specialized advisory services to manage stakeholder expectations, multiple security initiatives, compliance obligations, and evolving technologies within the cybersecurity landscape.

Why CISO advisory services are more important than ever

It could be that your organization is just getting started on its cybersecurity journey and does not have a seasoned security leader in place, or that your former CISO has left (CISO positions have high attrition rates). Regardless, the absence of a security leader, or a CISO who’s spread too thin, can result in insufficient or ineffective policies, lack of governance, and an inconsistent cybersecurity framework – all of which increases risk. There are myriad reasons for knowledgeable CISO advisory services, including:

  • Lack of proven cybersecurity talent
  • Need for a holistic cyber strategy/program that promotes consistent delivery of measurable outcomes instead of merely checking a compliance box
  • High turnover at CISO position (the average tenure is estimated between 18 and 26 months, according to multiple sources)
  • Need leadership and expert direction on comprehensive security strategy for consistent program performance and meaningful business alignment
  • Multiple competing high-demand efforts across the IT, regulatory, legal, and privacy functions of your organization that require significant planning and coordination

The definition of “strong” cybersecurity is constantly shifting and evolving as technology innovates at an ever-faster pace, causing continual changes in the cybersecurity landscape.

CISO advisory services

Our CISO advisory services provide your organization with access to a team of veteran security professionals and a dedicated security advisor. We work with CISOs to develop or refine a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy and then design a robust cybersecurity program or help manage the existing one, ensuring that risk-based factors are appropriately applied to process, technology, and governance models.

Virtual CISO (VCISO) services

To fulfill your interim or active staffing needs, Coalfire can also provide VCISO services — an experienced security leader backed by certified security professionals who will assist your company through the process of establishing, improving, and/or managing an effective security and risk program that meets the unique demands of your organization.

Combining relevant industry intelligence and security expertise, virtual CISOs step in and become part of your team. Our virtual CISOs can work on-site or remotely, on either a full-time or fractional basis.

Example of work performed by our vCISO Professionals

  • Development of a cybersecurity program roadmap that ties together all privacy, compliance, risk, and business strategy objectives
  • ELT and BOD status updates and deck prep
  • Rationalizing cybersecurity efforts across multiple regulatory compliance, privacy, and compliance efforts.
  • Development of policies, procedures, process-flows, and supporting documents
  • Project management specific to cybersecurity initiatives
  • Participating in or performing and leading vendor and/or technology selection
  • Cybersecurity process design, approach, and implementation
  • Due diligence services, including pre-acquisition risk assessments as well as post acquisition integration, operations, and support.
  • Investment funding audit support
  • Working with third party vendors, clients, customers, and regulatory bodies on behalf of the organization.

Why choose Coalfire for your CISO advisory service needs?

Since our founding in 2001, Coalfire has established itself as an end-to-end, vendor-neutral cybersecurity consulting firm that serves as a trusted advisor to executives, legal counsel, compliance managers and security practitioners across numerous industries. Some key differentiators include:

 
  • Experienced. Coalfire has a bench comprised of former CISO’s, CIO’s, IT and Cybersecurity Operations Leaders, Regulatory Compliance Professionals
  • Business-aligned insights. Coalfire’s skilled communicators present our recommendations in business terms that easily translate to action.
  • The right resources matched to the right activities. Every project is led by a seasoned, credentialed, industry-savvy senior professional and supported by consultants armed with the methodologies, proven proprietary frameworks, insights, and know-how. This ensures alignment between organizational cybersecurity needs and the right staff to deliver those services.
 
  • Milestone-based deliverables. Ensures delivery of high-value solutions better than a typical T&M approach.
  • Overlapped team-based coverage. Primary/secondary coverage for seamless delivery and span of expertise, based on maturity level. Whether architecting a new cybersecurity program or managing a program toward desired maturity, the many dimensions of the CISO role can be resourced with multiple individuals from Coalfire’s bench.

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