CISO as a Service
Strategic security leadership without the overhead—experienced CISO expertise on your terms
Access senior security leadership when you need it most. Our virtual CISO service provides the strategic direction, board-level engagement, and security governance your organisation needs—without the cost and commitment of a full-time hire.
What we deliver
Strategic security leadership—on your terms
Every organisation needs security leadership, but not every organisation needs, or can justify, a full-time Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). Whether you’re a growing business without dedicated security leadership, an organisation between CISOs, or an enterprise needing specialist support alongside your existing team, the gap in strategic security direction creates real risk.
Our CISO as a Service provides experienced security leaders who integrate into your organisation, providing strategic direction, board and executive engagement, risk oversight, and security governance. We act as your trusted security advisor—aligning security with business objectives and ensuring your organisation is protected, compliant, and confident.
Whether you need ongoing retained leadership or targeted strategic support for a specific initiative, our flexible engagement model ensures you get the right level of CISO expertise for your needs and budget.
Client outcomes
Strategic Security Direction
Clear security strategy aligned with business objectives ensures security investment is focused, prioritised, and delivers measurable outcomes.
Board Confidence
Regular board reporting and executive engagement ensures leadership understands security posture, risk exposure, and the value of security investment.
Reduced Security Risk
Experienced leadership oversight identifies and manages risks before they become incidents—reducing overall security exposure.
Regulatory Compliance
Strategic compliance oversight ensures obligations are met efficiently and sustainably—without reactive, last-minute scrambles.
Cost Efficiency
Access senior security leadership at a fraction of the cost of a full-time CISO—scaling engagement up or down as needs evolve.
Faster Maturity
Experienced leadership accelerates security maturity—drawing on lessons learned across multiple organisations and sectors to avoid common pitfalls.
How we work
A typical example of how we work with clients.
Please note that our engagement models are flexible—from full retained virtual CISO to targeted strategic advisory on specific initiatives.
Discovery & Assessment
We assess your current security posture, governance maturity, risk landscape, and business context. Through stakeholder interviews and documentation review, we understand priorities and establish a baseline.
Strategy & Roadmap
We develop a security strategy and roadmap tailored to your organisation—prioritising initiatives based on risk, business impact, and regulatory obligations. We establish governance structures and reporting cadences.
Integration & Leadership
We integrate into your organisation, attending governance meetings, engaging with leadership, overseeing security initiatives, and managing risk. We build relationships with key stakeholders across the business.
Retained Leadership
We provide ongoing CISO leadership—typically one to three days per week depending on your needs. We adapt engagement as your security maturity evolves and business requirements change.
Where the systems matter most
Soteria works with organisations whose systems underpin national security, critical services, and regulated industry - environments where security, resilience, and assurance are non-negotiable.
We bring contextualised cyber and digital consultancy aligned to the governance, compliance, and threat realities of high-assurance sectors - enabling secure, assured delivery from concept to operation.
A CISO, not a consultant pretending to be one
Experienced Security Leaders
Our virtual CISOs bring senior leadership experience across diverse sectors including defence, government, financial services, and critical national infrastructure. We provide genuine strategic leadership, not junior consultants with a title.
Business-Aligned Security
We understand that security exists to support business objectives. Our strategic approach ensures security enables business growth, customer confidence, and operational resilience.
Pragmatic Governance
We build governance frameworks that work in practice—proportionate, practical, and focused on genuine risk management rather than bureaucratic overhead.
Board-Ready Communication
We communicate security in business language. Board reports, executive briefings, and strategic recommendations are clear, concise, and focused on enabling informed decisions.
Security-Cleared Leadership
Our consultants hold active UK security clearance, enabling us to support sensitive programmes and environments where clearance is mandatory.
Flexible & Scalable
Scale CISO support up or down as your needs evolve. From intensive strategic engagements to light-touch advisory, we adapt to your requirements and budget.
FAQs
Explore some of the questions regularly asked about this service. Have a question not covered here? Get in touch.
CISO as a Service provides your organisation with experienced security leadership on a retained or project basis—without the cost and commitment of a full-time hire. Your virtual CISO integrates into your organisation, providing strategic direction, governance, and board-level engagement.
A virtual CISO provides equivalent strategic leadership at a fraction of the cost. You benefit from senior experience across multiple sectors and organisations—often broader than a single hire can offer. Engagement scales to your needs rather than fixed overhead.
Engagement typically ranges from one to three days per week, depending on your maturity, complexity, and requirements. We flex engagement up during critical periods and scale down as maturity improves. We also offer full time on site CISO support if required.
Absolutely. Board and executive engagement is a core part of the service. We prepare board reports, present security posture updates, and advise on strategic security decisions.
We work alongside existing teams, providing specialist strategic support, mentoring, or covering specific gaps. Our role adapts to complement your existing capability rather than duplicate it.
We can typically begin within two weeks of engagement. Initial discovery and assessment ensures we understand your priorities before providing strategic direction.
Our primary focus is strategic leadership and governance. For operational security needs, we coordinate with your internal teams or recommended specialist partners—ensuring operational delivery aligns with strategic direction.
We provide incident escalation and crisis management support as part of the service. Experienced leadership during incidents ensures swift, proportionate response and appropriate stakeholder communication.
Yes. We can support CISO recruitment—defining role requirements, supporting selection, and providing transition support to ensure continuity of strategic direction.
Absolutely. All our consultants hold active UK security clearance and operate under strict confidentiality obligations. We handle sensitive information with the same rigour as our government and defence clients.