Services Virtual CISO Services
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Virtual CISO Services

A Virtual CISO (vCISO) provides senior cybersecurity leadership on a fractional basis, combining the strategic depth of a full-time CISO with the cost-effectiveness and flexibility that growing organisations need. The right vCISO gives you board-grade security leadership without the £180k+ permanent cost.

RedSecLabs vCISOs are senior practitioners who have run security programmes at scale, built ISMS programmes, achieved SOC 2 / ISO 27001 / PCI DSS certifications, responded to live incidents, and presented to boards and regulators. We bring that experience to your organisation on the time commitment that fits your needs: 1-2 days a week, monthly oversight, or specific programme leadership.

Our vCISO service spans strategy, governance, compliance programme leadership, board and regulator reporting, M&A diligence support, and operational uplift, adapted to where you are in your security journey.

CREST Member Company CREST Penetration Testing Provider PCI SSC Qualified Security Assessor (QSA) Company ISO 27001 Certified UKAS Accredited Certification AICPA SOC 2

Get Your Fixed-Fee Quote

Tell us what needs testing. You’ll get a scoped, fixed-fee quote back the same business day, from a senior assessor, not a sales rep. No obligation, no spam.

✓ Same-day response✓ Fixed-fee, no surprises✓ Senior testers only✓ Retest included

We reply within one business day with next steps. Your details are used only to scope your enquiry, never shared or sold.

✓ UK-based CREST member · ✓ QSA-led methodology · ✓ Same-day scoping response · ✓ Executive + technical reports · ✓ Retest included
Who this is for

This service is a fit if you’re..

1
Pre-CISO stage
Companies needing executive security leadership but not yet ready for a full-time CISO hire.
2
Compliance programme leadership
Organisations running SOC 2, ISO 27001, or PCI programmes needing senior oversight without the headcount.
3
Board / customer assurance
Companies where the board or major customers want named executive security accountability.
Senior
Practitioner-grade only
1-4 days/wk
Flexible time commitment
Multi-framework
SOC 2, ISO, PCI, vendor reviews
Board-grade
Strategy and reporting

What is a virtual CISO?

A Virtual CISO (also called vCISO or fractional CISO) provides the leadership functions of a Chief Information Security Officer on a part-time, contract basis. Typical responsibilities include security strategy and roadmap, governance and policy ownership, compliance programme leadership, board and risk committee reporting, incident response oversight, vendor security review, and team development.

vCISO models suit organisations that need senior security leadership but cannot justify a full-time CISO, typically growth-stage companies (Series A through pre-IPO), regulated SMEs, organisations between full-time CISOs, or larger organisations needing specialised programme leadership (M&A diligence, compliance certifications, incident recovery).

What our vCISO service delivers:

Security strategy aligned with business objectives

Compliance programme leadership (SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, GDPR)

Board and risk committee security reporting

Vendor and customer security review leadership

Incident response and crisis management oversight

Internal security team mentoring and development

vCISO is leadership, not staff augmentation, the right vCISO operates at executive level and represents your security function to the board, regulators, customers, and investors.

Why virtual CISO services matter

Senior cybersecurity leadership is one of the most expensive and hard-to-recruit roles in modern business. Permanent CISOs command £180,000-£300,000+ in the UK; experienced ones are scarce; recruiting cycles take 6+ months. For most organisations under £100M revenue, a full-time CISO is over-investment, but the absence of senior security leadership is a real risk.

A vCISO bridges the gap: senior-practitioner-grade leadership at a fraction of permanent cost, available on the timeline you need, with the right experience for your specific stage and challenges. It is the most efficient way for growth-stage organisations to access executive-grade security capability.

Without senior security leadership, organisations face:

Security strategy disconnected from business objectives

Compliance programmes that drift or fail to deliver

Board and audit committee unable to assess cyber risk

Vendor and customer security reviews managed by unqualified staff

Failed M&A diligence at growth-stage exits

Incident response without executive coordination

vCISO services provide the security leadership your organisation needs at the scale appropriate for your stage, without the cost or recruiting lead time of a permanent hire.

Who needs virtual CISO services?

vCISO services suit a wide range of organisational stages and circumstances. RedSecLabs vCISOs typically support:

Series A-C growth-stage technology companies

Regulated SMEs (financial, healthcare, legal)

Organisations between permanent CISOs

Pre-IPO companies building governance

Defence and government supply chain

Organisations leading compliance programmes

Post-incident recovery operations

Pre-acquisition diligence preparation

vCISO suits organisations needing 1-4 days per week of senior security leadership. Smaller commitments suit advisory engagements; larger commitments may justify permanent recruitment.

Our vCISO Engagement Model

A structured engagement model that delivers immediate value while building toward sustainable security leadership capability.

01

Discovery & Strategy

We understand your business, regulatory environment, current security posture, and stakeholder expectations, then propose a strategic security roadmap with stakeholder agreement.

02

Governance Framework

We establish or improve security governance: policies, risk register, security committee terms of reference, board reporting templates, escalation procedures.

03

Compliance Programme Leadership

Active leadership of in-flight compliance programmes (SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, GDPR), chairing project meetings, owning certification body relationships, signing off on key decisions.

04

Operational Security Oversight

Monthly review of security operations, vulnerability management, incident response, awareness programme, access reviews, with documented decisions and follow-up actions.

05

Board & Risk Committee Reporting

Quarterly board-grade security reporting with strategic narrative, risk register changes, programme status, and forward-looking risk assessment.

06

Vendor & Customer Security Reviews & Code Audit

Senior representation in customer security questionnaires, vendor reviews, M&A diligence, the conversations that need a CISO voice.

07

Incident Response Coordination

Executive-level coordination during live incidents, engaging legal counsel, communicating with affected parties, briefing the board, managing regulator notification.

08

Team Development

Mentoring of internal security staff, building toward in-house capability that can either continue with vCISO support or eventually transition to permanent leadership.

Engagements typically run for 6 months minimum; many evolve into multi-year relationships as our vCISO becomes a trusted strategic partner.

Engagement tiers

Retained monthly, scale up or down with 30 days’ notice. Every tier is led by a named senior practitioner, backed by our CREST testing team and PCI SSC QSA Company assessors.

 AdvisoryProgrammeEmbedded
Allocation2 days / month4–6 days / month8+ days / month
Built forA settled programme needing senior cover, board reporting and a sounding boardActive audit cycles: SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS or Cyber Essentials in flight, customer questionnaires, vendor riskBuilding the programme from scratch, post-incident rebuild, or interim cover while you hire
Always includedNamed vCISO, security roadmap ownership, quarterly board pack, policy stewardship, incident escalation line, and direct access to our pentest and compliance teams at member rates
Compare to hiringA full-time UK CISO typically costs £150k–£250k+ fully loaded and takes 3–6 months to recruit. Retained vCISO engagements deliver the same seniority for a fraction of that, starting within days, with no recruitment risk

Companies typically engage us when:

SOC 2 or ISO 27001 audit approaching Board or investors asking about cyber risk Enterprise customers sending security questionnaires After an incident or near miss CISO left, hire is months away

What you receive

Every vCISO engagement with RedSecLabs includes:

  • Security strategy and 12-24 month roadmap
  • Risk register and ongoing risk management programme
  • Security policy library tailored to your environment
  • Quarterly board and risk committee security reports
  • Compliance programme leadership (SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS)
  • Customer security questionnaire and vendor review leadership
  • Incident response coordination and post-incident reviews
  • Internal security team mentoring and succession planning

Industries We Serve

We deliver this service across these industries:

Financial Services
Healthcare
SaaS & Technology
E-commerce & Retail
Defence & Government
Cloud & Managed Services
Education
Professional Services

Why RedSecLabs for vCISO

Most vCISO services either field junior consultants playing CISO, or rotate clients through generic templates. We staff every vCISO engagement with senior practitioners who have actually held the role, built ISMS programmes from scratch, presented to boards under fire, led live incident response with regulator visibility. The level of strategic credibility that brings to your security function is fundamentally different.

Senior practitioners who have held the CISO role
Flexible time commitment from 1 day/week
Multi-framework compliance experience
Board and investor reporting depth
Single point of contact throughout engagement
Pathway to permanent recruitment when ready

Get Senior Security Leadership Now

Book a free 30-minute consultation. We will match a vCISO to your needs and propose a fixed monthly fee within a week.

Book a Scoping Call Contact Us

Where to next

Related services and industry packages worth exploring.

ISO 27001 Certification

Financial Services package

How the vCISO engagement works

Senior security leadership on a fractional basis, matched to where your programme is.

1
Assess the programme
We benchmark your current security maturity, risks and obligations, then agree the outcomes that matter most to your board and customers.
2
Lead and execute
Your vCISO owns the roadmap, runs the security programme, and represents security in board reporting, audits and customer reviews.
3
Mature and report
Quarterly progress against the roadmap, with metrics you can show leadership, investors and enterprise buyers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Most engagements run 1-3 days per week, structured as a mix of regular cadence (weekly security ops review, monthly leadership team attendance, quarterly board reporting) and on-call availability for incidents and customer escalations. We scope time commitment based on your organisation size, regulatory environment, and current programme complexity.

A consultant delivers projects against a defined scope; a vCISO holds an executive role, makes decisions, and represents your security function externally. The vCISO signs off on compliance attestations, presents to your board, speaks to regulators, and is accountable for security posture in a way a consultant is not.

Yes, our vCISOs sign customer security questionnaires, vendor attestations, and compliance documentation under their professional credentials. Where you need a named CISO on your website or in your security questionnaire response, we provide that named individual.

We facilitate the transition. Many vCISO engagements explicitly include "build toward permanent recruitment" as an objective, we develop internal candidates, support recruiting cycles, and provide handover when the right permanent hire is in place. Several of our clients now have permanent CISOs we helped them recruit and onboard.

Yes, our vCISOs lead compliance programmes across SOC 2 (Type I and II), ISO 27001, PCI DSS, GDPR, HIPAA, NIS2, DORA, Cyber Essentials, and sector-specific regimes (CREST-accredited, SWIFT CSP). We match the vCISO to the framework experience your programme needs.

Engagements typically £6,000-£20,000 per month depending on time commitment and seniority required. 1 day per week of senior vCISO ~£6,000-£10,000/month; 3 days per week ~£15,000-£20,000/month. Far less than the £180,000+ all-in cost of a permanent CISO, with no recruiting lead time.

An MSSP watches your logs and runs your tools; a vCISO owns your security programme, sets strategy, reports to the board and is accountable for outcomes. Many clients keep their MSSP and add our vCISO on top, because someone still has to decide what the tooling is for.

That is a normal end-state for growing companies. We document the programme as we build it, help write the job specification, sit on interview panels if you want, and run a structured handover, then step back to advisory days or exit cleanly.
What you receive

Every engagement includes

  • ✓ Scoping call. A 30-minute call to define scope, timeline, and authorisation boundaries.
  • ✓ Assessment plan. Written plan covering scope, evidence requirements, and assessment schedule.
  • ✓ Findings report. Control-by-control findings with evidence references and remediation guidance.
  • ✓ Executive summary. Board-ready 1-2 page summary with risk ratings and business impact.
  • ✓ Audit-ready evidence. Findings letter formatted for auditors, customers, and supervisory authorities.
  • ✓ Re-verification letter. Remediated gaps re-verified within an agreed window. Confirmation letter included.
  • ✓ Remediation call. A call with our lead assessor to walk through findings and remediation strategy.
How we deliver

Our process, end to end

  1. 1
    Scoping call & fixed-scope quote
    A 30-minute call. We define scope, targets, timeline. You get a fixed-scope quote within one working day. No surprise invoices.
  2. 2
    Assessment plan & authorisation
    Written assessment plan covering scope, evidence requirements and schedule. Authorisation and NDA in place before any work begins.
  3. 3
    Assessor-led execution
    A senior assessor runs the engagement. Material gaps flagged as they are found, not saved for the report. Daily updates if you want them.
  4. 4
    Technical + executive report
    Detailed technical findings with reproduction steps. Board-ready executive summary. Delivered within agreed working days.
  5. 5
    Remediation call & re-verification
    Walkthrough with our lead assessor. Re-verification of remediated gaps within the agreed window. Confirmation letter for your auditors.
Engagement scope

What shapes the quote

Small scope
Single environment, one framework, limited system count. 5-7 working days.
Medium scope
Multiple systems or sites, several control owners, integrations. 8-12 working days.
Enterprise scope
Complex estate, multiple entities or locations, full audit-grade evidence. 12-25 working days.
Fixed-scope quote within 1 working day
No surprise invoices, no scope-creep. We commit to a number before you commit to us.
Sample report
See exactly what we deliver
Download a redacted RedSecLabs report. Same structure, depth and clarity as the deliverables your team will receive.
Download sample report
Why RedSecLabs

Grounded reasons clients choose us

⚑
UK-based team
Testers based in the UK. Data stays within UK/EU jurisdiction for sensitive engagements.
❄
CREST member company
CREST-accredited methodology. Senior testers hold CREST CRT or CCT certifications.
⚙
Practitioners, not checklists
Assessments run by practitioners who also test systems hands-on, findings reflect how controls actually operate.
✎
Clear executive reporting
Reports your board can read and your developers can act on. No jargon padding.
♚
Compliance-aware delivery
PCI, SOC 2, ISO 27001, DORA, GDPR. We map findings to your compliance framework.
↺
Retest support included
Free retest of remediated findings within agreed window. Confirmation letter for auditors.
Related services

Often paired with this engagement

SOC 2 Compliance →
Often paired with vCISO for programme leadership.
ISO 27001 Certification →
vCISO can lead the ISMS programme.
DPO Services →
Outsourced statutory data protection officer.
Security Gap Assessment →
Initial baseline before vCISO retention.
Incident Response Retainer →
Companion retainer for incident readiness.
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