// Fractional CISO

Fractional CISO support for security risk and compliance work.

Practical controls that fit daily operations.

We help build a security program grounded in frameworks like NIST, CIS, CMMC, and ISO 27001, with a clear roadmap to reduce risk and prepare for audits.

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The role, in full

Security leadership that owns the risk.

A fractional CISO is a senior security executive who owns your security program end to end: the risk register, the control roadmap, the policies, incident readiness, and the answers your customers, auditors, and insurers demand. Not a scanner report or a one-time assessment, an accountable owner.

In practice that means someone who can sit across from an auditor or an enterprise customer and defend your program, run the response when something goes wrong, and report risk to the board in business terms. We keep a standing cadence: control work tracked weekly, a monthly risk review with leadership, and audit-ready evidence collected as a habit rather than a fire drill. Engagements run month to month and coordinate directly with CIO and CAIO work, because security decisions touch the same systems and people.

The first 90 days
  1. Days 1–30

    Baseline

    Risk assessment and gap analysis against the framework that matters to you (CMMC, NIST, ISO 27001, SOC 2). Asset and data inventory.

  2. Days 31–60

    Prioritize

    A control roadmap ordered by real risk, not checklist order. Core policies drafted. The incident response plan written and assigned.

  3. Days 61–90

    Operate

    Quick-win controls landed, awareness training started, the first tabletop exercise run, and a board-ready risk report delivered.

By day 90: you can answer the question every customer and insurer is starting to ask: who owns security here, and what is the plan.

Operating principles

Practical security with clear ownership and cadence.

As your fractional CISO, we build a program that balances protection, compliance, and productivity. The work is scoped to your environment, customer requirements, and operating constraints.

Risk-based
Focus resources on the threats that materially impact your specific business, not generic threat catalogs.
Operational integration
Controls that enhance rather than hinder operations. Shop-floor reality, not headquarters theory.
Audit-ready
Frameworks that prepare you for customer audits and regulatory requirements before they ask.
Frameworks
NIST CSF · CIS Controls · CMMC · ISO 27001 · SOC 2, mapped to your environment, not pasted in.
When to engage

Signs it is time for a fractional CISO.

  • A customer or insurer is demanding proof of security controls.
  • CMMC, NIST, or ISO 27001 has become a condition of winning work.
  • You are one incident away from a very bad week, with no response plan.
  • Security keeps getting bolted on after the fact and slowing operations.

Adopting AI? The CISO owns governance and control inside our end-to-end AI Implementation solution, so models meet acceptable use and data rules before they touch production.

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Threat landscape

The cost of inaction is measurable.

60%
Of small businesses close within 6 months of a cyberattack.
$4.45M
Average cost of a data breach, downtime is typically the largest line item.
#1
Manufacturing is now the most-targeted industry, per IBM X-Force.
Framework

Built on NIST CSF, customized for operations.

The six NIST CSF functions, scoped to manufacturing and service company realities.

Function What it covers Where we focus
Identify Asset inventory, risk assessment, governance framework. Asset management · Business environment · Risk strategy
Protect Safeguards ensuring delivery of critical services. Access control · Awareness training · Data security
Detect Identifying cybersecurity events as they happen. Anomalies & events · Security monitoring · Detection processes
Respond Actions on a detected incident. Response planning · Communications · Analysis & mitigation
Recover Resilience plans and capability restoration. Recovery planning · Improvements · Stakeholder communication
Govern Organization-wide risk management strategy. Organizational context · Risk strategy · Supply chain risk
Deliverables

What you get.

Security program development

  • Cybersecurity risk assessment and gap analysis
  • Security policy and procedure development
  • Incident response plan creation and testing
  • Business continuity and disaster recovery planning

Implementation & management

  • Security technology evaluation and deployment
  • Employee security awareness training
  • Vendor risk management program
  • Regular security assessments and board reporting
Related

Explore other services.

Fractional CIO

Strategic technology leadership for manufacturing and service companies.

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Fractional CAIO

AI policy, use-case selection, data readiness, and workflow adoption.

View service

Pricing & packages

Flexible engagement models based on scope, cadence, and role coverage.

View service
FAQ

Common questions.

What is a fractional CISO?
A fractional CISO is a senior security executive who owns a company’s security program on a part-time basis: the risk register, control roadmap, policies, incident readiness, and audit responses. You get accountable security leadership without the cost of a full-time executive, typically for a few days per month.
How much does a fractional CISO cost compared to a full-time CISO?
A full-time CISO typically costs $180,000 to $300,000 per year in salary and benefits, when you can hire one at all. A fractional CISO delivers program ownership on a month-to-month retainer scoped to your environment, usually a small fraction of the full-time cost.
Can a fractional CISO get us ready for CMMC, NIST, or ISO 27001?
Yes. Framework readiness is core to the role: gap assessment against the framework your customers require, a control roadmap ordered by real risk, evidence collection as an ongoing habit, and preparation for the audit itself. For CMMC we prepare you to succeed with a certified third-party assessor.
What happens if we have a security incident?
You run the response plan we wrote and tested together, and we are in the room: coordinating containment, communications, insurers, and recovery. Building and exercising the incident response plan is a first-90-days deliverable precisely so a bad day is a managed day.
How is this different from the security services our MSP sells?
An MSP sells tools and monitoring; a CISO owns outcomes. The fractional CISO sets the strategy, holds the MSP accountable, validates that the controls actually reduce your risks, and answers to your board, your customers, and your auditors. The two roles work best together, but they are not the same role.
// Next step

Talk through the security risk.

Use a 30-minute call to review the audit, framework, incident readiness, or control issue in front of you.

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