vCISO services

The oversight and assistance you need — on-demand

Cybersecurity has become an essential business function to help organizations build operational resilience and manage risk. Some industries are required by regulations to have a qualified individual designated as the company’s chief information security officer (CISO). For others, a CISO can help executives make critical and informed decisions to avoid a data breach — something that almost 50% of U.S. companies dealt with last year.

Wipfli’s virtual CISO service helps you not only fulfill any regulatory requirements but also reduce your risk and ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of your information.

How does it work?

Our vCISO service is based on a fractional ownership model. This means you get on-demand access to your experienced Wipfli CISO — and their knowledge, strategy and leadership — when you need it. Unlike other firms, we don’t just give you a set number of hours a week to work with and that’s it. Our proven process sets you up for success by working closely with you over the first 90 days to create or enhance your information security program.

1. First 30 days: Our first step is to analyze your organization’s compliance with regulatory frameworks and requirements; review your current audits, cyber assessments, regulatory guidance and compliance; interview key stakeholders and identify outcomes; and get you set up with our compliance portal.
2. 30-60 days: We then review and establish roles and responsibilities for your information security committee, create or enhance your security program’s governance model and program charter, define a meeting cadence that works for you, and complete a cybersecurity health check and compliance gap assessment.
3. 60-90 days: Once we have this information, we can start developing your roadmap. We review gaps and risks, identify your goals for the year, and identify and prioritize security initiatives by quarter.

Then we run the program on an ongoing basis. This includes providing necessary oversight, holding information security meetings, tracking progress on initiatives and providing updates to key stakeholders (including your board of directors if applicable). You also receive a pool of hours to support larger projects as well as ad-hoc requests such as vendor risk management, employee training, business continuity planning, and penetration testing.

Altogether, Wipfli’s works with you to ensure we’re focusing on what’s truly important to your organization — and what you need immediately versus down the road. Contact us to set up a 30-minute conversation about your vCISO needs and how we can help you meet your regulatory requirements.