Senior security leadership on a fractional or interim basis — strategy, board reporting, risk governance, and programme oversight. CISO-level direction without a full-time hire or 6-month search.
Full-time CISOs command ?80L?1.2Cr annually in India and come with a 46 month search cycle. A virtual CISO delivers the same strategic function at a fraction of the cost, with immediate coverage.
Access CISO-level expertise without the salary, benefits, equity, or recruitment overhead of a full-time hire. Engagement is scoped to what your programme actually needs — no idle capacity.
Bypass the recruitment cycle entirely. A Caveo vCISO is active within weeks — conducting a security assessment, establishing governance, and presenting to the board before a hired CISO completes onboarding.
Backed by Caveo's delivery team across BFSI, manufacturing, government, and technology — your vCISO brings pattern recognition from multiple regulated environments, not a single sector lens.
A vCISO from Caveo covers the full scope of a CISO function — from day-to-day security direction to board-level reporting and regulatory engagement.
Multi-year security programme design aligned to business risk, regulatory requirements, and technology direction. Prioritised roadmap with defined milestones and budget allocation guidance.
Enterprise risk register design, risk appetite framework, and regular risk posture reporting. Translates technical risk into business-language board briefings.
Structured board reporting on security posture, incident exposure, and programme maturity. Executive-ready deliverables — not raw technical dashboards.
Information security policy suite, acceptable use, incident response, business continuity, and data classification frameworks — designed, owned, and maintained as a programme deliverable.
Third-party risk assessment framework, vendor security questionnaires, and ongoing vendor risk oversight integrated into procurement and contract cycles.
Security steering committee facilitation, programme KPI definition, budget advocacy, and cross-functional alignment across IT, legal, HR, and operations.
The right model depends on your programme maturity, internal capacity, and timeline. All three are available across India and Malaysia.
Ongoing — 24 days per month
Full-time coverage — 312 months
Project-based — defined scope
30-minute briefing to understand your environment, regulatory obligations, risk appetite, and team structure. We scope the engagement model and deliverables before any commitment.
Structured assessment of your current security posture — policies, controls, third-party exposure, and compliance gaps. Delivered as a board-ready risk report within the first two weeks.
Security roadmap, risk governance framework, and board reporting cadence established. Existing team aligned to programme priorities, and quick wins identified for immediate risk reduction.
Regular risk and programme reporting, steering committee facilitation, policy maintenance, and continuous security direction — with Caveo's wider delivery team available for operational escalations.
Clear, measurable security baseline established within the first 30 days — not a vague assessment report.
Structured, recurring board and C-suite reporting that translates risk into business language decision-makers can act on.
Programme designed to satisfy ISO 27001, CERT-In, RBI, or BNM RMiT audit requirements — not just pass a snapshot assessment.
Security awareness, policy discipline, and incident response capability embedded in internal teams through the engagement — not dependent on the vCISO indefinitely.
Third-party risk programme active within 60 days — critical vendors assessed, risk-tiered, and contractual security obligations validated.
Organised, documented security posture that holds up to regulatory scrutiny — whether CERT-In, RBI, SEBI, BNM, or a client audit.
vCISO engagements are most common in regulated sectors where a CISO function is expected by auditors, regulators, or enterprise clients — but a full-time hire is not yet justified.
RBI DPAS, SEBI, BNM RMiT compliance. Board reporting for NBFCs, banks, and insurers.
ISO 27001, SOC 2 readiness, and enterprise client security audit response.
CERT-In compliance, critical infrastructure security governance, and audit readiness.
Patient data governance, PDPA compliance, and third-party medical device risk.
OT/IT security governance, vendor risk, and insurance compliance for industrial environments.
Critical infrastructure security programme governance and regulatory engagement.
Student data protection governance and security programme design for universities.
A standalone vCISO is an individual. A Caveo vCISO is an individual backed by a delivery team — with MSSP, SOC, VAPT, and GRC capability available when strategy needs to become operations.
Your vCISO can call on Caveo's SOC, MSSP, VAPT, and GRC teams directly — so security direction translates into operational delivery, not advisory with no follow-through.
Dual-entity presence means a single vCISO engagement can cover your India and Malaysia operations under one consistent security programme and reporting structure.
Our own certifications mean we design programmes that satisfy the same standards we operate under — practical, audit-tested, not theoretical frameworks.
Operating since 2012 across BFSI, manufacturing, government, and technology — the programme patterns we apply have been tested in regulated environments, not developed in isolation.
What is a virtual CISO and how is it different from a consultant?
A virtual CISO (vCISO) takes ownership of the CISO function — owning the security programme, reporting to the board, and making strategic decisions. A consultant delivers a defined piece of work and leaves. The vCISO is accountable for outcomes across the engagement, not just for the deliverable.
How many hours per month does a fractional vCISO engagement involve?
Fractional engagements typically run 24 days per month, scoped to your programme maturity and business needs. This includes governance activities, board reporting, steering committee facilitation, and on-call availability for incident escalation. The scope is agreed and reviewed quarterly.
Can a vCISO help with ISO 27001 certification?
Yes. ISO 27001 readiness and certification is one of the most common vCISO mandates. The engagement covers gap assessment, Statement of Applicability, control design, risk treatment planning, and pre-audit preparation — with Caveo's GRC team providing framework-level support.
Does the vCISO work alongside our existing IT or security team?
Yes — the vCISO provides strategic direction and governance, not operational replacement. Existing IT and security personnel continue their day-to-day function. The vCISO sets priorities, owns the programme, and provides escalation structure that the internal team operates within.
What happens if we need operational security — SOC monitoring or VAPT — during the engagement?
Caveo's vCISO engagement is backed by a full delivery organisation. SOC monitoring, VAPT, GRC advisory, and NOC services are available as add-on workstreams managed under the same security programme — giving the vCISO real delivery capacity, not just advisory authority.
How quickly can a Caveo vCISO be operational?
Typically 23 weeks from contract signature to active programme engagement. The initial security assessment and board risk briefing are delivered within the first 30 days. This timeline assumes reasonable internal access to policies, system inventories, and key stakeholders.
Book a 30-minute vCISO briefing. We'll assess your current programme, identify gaps, and recommend the right engagement model — with no commitment required.