A Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) is responsible and accountable for securing the company’s data and technical assets. A CISO creates and owns the information security strategy with the objective to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of data. CISOs are charged with creating an information security strategy as well as the development and management of the organization’s security programs. A CISO’s duties also include conducting security risk assessments and implementing controls necessary to mitigate identified risks across the enterprise. CISOs also ensure that the organization is compliant with regulatory and contractual requirements.

Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) consulting services have several marketing names, such as Virtual CISO services, vCISO, CISO on Demand, CISO as Service, or Rent a CISO. The goal of the virtual CISO service is to provide part-time or interim help in managing information security and compliance programs to businesses that lack staff with the expertise to take on such responsibilities.

A company’s size does not determine its security and compliance needs. Not every company requires a full-time CISO, but every company has to protect its sensitive data and comply with applicable regulations. In fact, a small company may have greater security and compliance exposure than a large enterprise. For example, a healthcare startup may be handling Protected Health Information (PHI) data from multiple large customers, so its security risks and compliance footprint extend to each customer’s systems.  

Due to the high demand for individuals with strong skill sets, hiring a talented CISO may take anywhere from three months to a year. When a company loses its CISO, this role gap needs to be filled as soon as possible so the company’s systems remain secure.  

Additionally, many regulatory requirements (e.g. HIPAA) and security certification standards (e.g. ISO 27001) require organizations to have someone with a defined role as being responsible for information security.

Planet 9, a San Francisco Bay Area-based organization, employs seasoned professionals with years of experience working in various private industries, including healthcare, e-commerce, finance, software development, manufacturing, and technology, where they held senior leadership positions responsible for information security and compliance.

 Our CISOs can help organizations develop and implement (or improve existing) information security and compliance programs, handle security incidents, conduct security risk assessments and compliance evaluations, manage security teams, and perform other responsibilities.