vCISO for Teams That Need Strategy, Not Headcount.

Even strong internal teams benefit from an external perspective. Our vCISO experts provide specialized knowledge and advanced penetration testing to uncover risks that might be missed internally. We lighten your team's workload by streamlining audits, security reviews, and strategic risk management.

Speak with a vCISO Today

Virtual CISO (vCISO) for Teams That Need Strategy, Not Headcount

Security Ideals provides fractional CISO leadership for SaaS, fintech, and healthcare companies: owning your security roadmap, guiding SOC 2 and HIPAA/HITRUST, and representing security with customers, auditors, and the board.

Talk to a vCISO About Your Roadmap

See What Customers Typically Pay for vCISO

Executive‑level security leadership at a fraction of a full‑time CISO cost.

Experience across SOC 2, HIPAA/HITRUST, ISO 27001, PCI, and more.

Flexible engagement models to match company size and growth stage.

You need a CISO outcome, but not a full‑time CISO

Growing companies often reach a point where security questions show up in every deal, but a full‑time CISO hire feels too early or too expensive. A vCISO gives you an experienced security leader who can own strategy, risk, and compliance without adding a permanent executive headcount.

Customers, investors, or regulators expect a named security leader and a real security program, not ad‑hoc responses.

You are juggling SOC 2, HIPAA/HITRUST, or ISO work, but no one has time to coordinate priorities, budget, and vendor decisions.

Security is mostly reactive: incidents, questionnaires, and fire drills instead of a forward‑looking roadmap.

Strategic security leadership without the salary line.

Your vCISO from Security Ideals acts like an embedded security leader: meeting regularly with your executives and IT team, setting priorities, and making sure security and compliance support the business instead of blocking it.

Security Roadmap

Build and maintain a living roadmap aligning risk, compliance, and budget

Framework Oversight

Oversee SOC 2, HIPAA/HITRUST, and other frameworks in one coherent program

Risk Prioritization

Lead assessments and remediation prioritization across people, process, tech

Executive Communication

Represent security in board meetings, customer calls, and auditor conversations

Coordination

Coordinate policies, training, vendor risk, and testing activities

A flexible model that grows with your company

Engagements can start as low‑touch advisory and scale to more hands‑on leadership as your needs grow.

Assessment & Onboarding

Review your current security posture, frameworks in play (SOC 2, HIPAA/HITRUST, ISO, PCI), and key risks; define engagement goals and meeting cadence.

Roadmap & Quick Wins

Build a prioritized roadmap, identify immediate risk reductions, and align with product and operations plans.

Ongoing Leadership & Oversight

Run regular governance meetings, track progress, adjust priorities as the business evolves, and support audits, incidents, and key projects.

Review & Scale

Periodically review value, adjust hours or scope, and decide when to maintain the vCISO model or prepare for a future full‑time hire.

Transparent vCISO pricing expectations

vCISO pricing varies with scope, cadence, and complexity, but most organizations choose a retainer that gives them predictable access to executive‑level guidance at a fraction of a full‑time CISO’s salary.

Typical retainers range from low‑thousands to tens of thousands per month depending on size, frameworks, and responsibilities.

Hourly or project‑based options are available for focused efforts like gap assessments or incident response planning.

During your intro call, you receive a recommended engagement model and price range based on your goals.

vCISO Strategy Steps

Our certified security experts work with you to develop a security plan that is suitable for your organization at a fraction of the cost of an in-house CISO. Starting with a Risk Assessment, we work with you to evaluate your security plan’s strengths and weaknesses and help you manage security risks

Kick-Off Meeting

We start with a high-level overview of your company’s current information security program. This initial meeting is designed to connect you with the Security Ideals’ Team as well as introduce our Risk Assessment Framework.

Security Analysis

We will complete the Risk Assessment and Security Review Framework through collaborative meetings with our security experts and your company’s stakeholders. The completed Risk Assessment and Security Review establishes the baseline for your security program.

Security Strategy

Now that your Risk Assessment and Security Review are complete, our vCISO will present you with the findings and your custom information security strategy for the next 12-months.

Why vCISO?

Security Ideals vCISOs are an extension of your team and provide ongoing support and recommendations.

What does a Virtual Chief Information Security Officer actually do?

The leading purpose of a Virtual CISO is to provide an evaluation of an organization’s security program and develop a guide based on the findings. This begins with a comprehensive assessment of the security program to pinpoint specific strengths and weaknesses. The vCISO collaborates directly with the leadership to better understand the company’s needs and helps provide attainable goals. They partner with the organization’s stakeholders to train employees as well as make improvements operationally with security, protection, and efficiency in mind. After systems are established, the vCISO serves as an advisor if challenges ever arise.

What are the responsibilities of a vCISO?

Security Ideals vCISO is flexible to meet the needs of our clients. From high-level guidance on a monthly/quarterly basis to being involved in the day-to-day operations. We have the solution for you!

Typical responsibilities of vCISO include:
•Internal audit
•Penetration testing
•Social engineering
•Vulnerability assessments
•Risk assessment
•Information security guidance
•Security compliance management
•Security policy, process, and procedure development
•Incident response planning
•Security training and awareness
•Security assessment
•Provide strategic direction

Benefits of vCISO with Security Ideals

Substantial Industry knowledge and skills

Our experienced consultants work with you to guide your technology strategies, helping you align them with your business and process strategies while maintaining compliance. We provide strategic, architectural, operational, and implementation planning for all your information security needs.

We have extensive experience in security compliance preparation.

Security compliance audits are a major undertaking-to say the least. Our team of experts can help you prepare for audits in advance by identifying potential problems and we can assist in remediation so you can focus on your business growth.

Cost-Effectiveness and Timing

Security Ideals has expert CISOs dedicated to your company at a much lower cost than an internal CISO with as-needed utilization. Get the expertise you need when you need it!

Your vCISO connects the dots across compliance and security

A vCISO is most effective when paired with focused projects like SOC 2 readiness, HIPAA/HITRUST work, penetration testing, and tabletop exercises.