Companies are rethinking the CISO role. For decades, security veterans have championed in house leadership. But now a virtual CISO (vCISO), a fractional, part time security leader, is increasingly seen as a strategic model, not just a temporary fix. In fact, many small and mid sized businesses (SMBs) find that a vCISO is exactly the right fit for today’s threats.
Having walked a few miles in both shoes, I’m here to share what I’ve learned in practice. The question is not about “CISO or vCISO?” in isolation. It’s “Which will actually protect us?“
“Today’s cyber risks don’t care about your org chart. Whether you have 20 people or 20,000, you need leadership at the helm of your security program.” – Reet Kaur
In fact, global cybercrime is exploding. Recent estimates predict cyberattacks will cost the world $1.5 trillion in 2025. When half the planet’s commercial data is online, you can’t afford to leave security strategy to chance. This landscape is exactly why vCISOs have become a hot topic. They let organizations quickly plug gaps in leadership without the long lag or payroll burden of a full-time hire.
Let’s break it down from the ground up, by experience and not hype, so you can see what I see as a practitioner.
CISO vs. vCISO: What Do They Actually Do?
A Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) is a full-time executive. They craft the long-term security strategy, build the team, and integrate security into every business process. Think of a CISO as a full-time guard captain: they set policies, manage risk, lead incident response, and advise the board. Their strength is deep institutional knowledge and constant presence.
A Virtual CISO (vCISO) offers much the same expertise, but on an as-needed basis. A vCISO is typically an outside consultant or contracted expert who advises your organization on strategy, compliance, and risk management without being an employee. They might work only a few hours a week or month, scaling up for projects like audits or security assessments.
Here’s a quick comparison:
|
Topic |
CISO |
vCISO |
|---|---|---|
|
Commitment |
Full-time salary (+ benefits). |
Part-time/contract (bite-sized retainer or hourly fees). |
|
Cost |
CISO packages often top $200-300K per year salary (not counting bonuses and benefits). |
A vCISO can cost a few thousand per month, sometimes less than a single mid-level engineer’s salary. |
|
Integration |
CISOs are “all in”, embedded in company culture. |
vCISOs stay a bit external, which means less immediate oversight but also less overhead. |
|
Scope |
CISOs handle strategy and operations (risk registers, incident response, team management). |
vCISOs focus on strategy, compliance frameworks, and major initiatives. They often leave operational tasks to others. |
|
Expertise |
A CISO brings deep knowledge of your industry and internal systems. |
A vCISO brings broad experience across many industries, often spotting issues and best practices you may have missed. |
Why vCISOs Are Booming for SMBs and Scale-Ups
Let’s talk about why this matters. Smaller companies used to assume “We’re too small for a CISO”. That’s a dangerous myth. A recent stat shows 46% of all breaches hit businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees and in fact the majority of ransomware attacks target organizations below that size. Attackers love nimble firms because they often have weaker defenses. One study found 75% of SMBs would be unable to continue operating after a ransomware attack. In other words, many would go bankrupt.
Yet surveys tell a crazy story: 60% of SMB owners know they’re likely targets, but most still handle security themselves (or trust someone untrained). That gap is where vCISOs fit like a puzzle piece.
Real World Scenario
Imagine a healthcare startup suddenly needing HIPAA compliance. They may not have a security chief, but they do have patient data at risk. A vCISO can step in, map out the compliance tasks, and guide the IT team without the 6 month CISO hiring process. Or consider a 100 person fintech firm facing a SOC 2 audit. They might hire a vCISO for a 3 month blitz to nail the report and leave, whereas a full-time CISO would be overkill for that short-term need.
It’s no surprise, then, that the vCISO market is growing like crazy. Analysts put it at about $1.2 billion in 2024, with projections to reach $1.78 billion by 2032. Cloud and remote-work trends magnify this: as more infrastructure lives in the cloud, your security leader can be anywhere. A vCISO fits perfectly in a cloud-first, on-demand world.
Common Myths vs. Reality (Busted)
Even knowing this, I hear CISOs and CEOs question: “We’re not a Fortune 1000. We can’t afford a security executive.” Or “If we bring in a vCISO, they won’t understand our business.”
Let’s address these head-on:
“We’re too small to need a CISO.”
“A vCISO will cost as much as a full CISO.”
“vCISOs only handle board-room strategy.”
“They won’t understand our business.”
- Myth 1: “We’re too small to need a CISO.” Reality: No one is too small to be a target. Today’s criminals routinely scan for the path of least resistance, and small companies often look easier. You may not need a full-time leader, but you do need someone leading the strategy. A vCISO fills that gap seamlessly.
- Myth 2: “A vCISO will cost as much as a full CISO.” Reality: A good vCISO arrangement is pay-for-what-you-need. Many vCISOs bill by retainer or hour. Some companies only need a few hours monthly for policy oversight or compliance checklist preparation. Others ramp up vCISO time during an audit season and scale down afterward. I’ve seen SMB clients save 80% or more on security leadership costs by going virtual.
- Myth 3: “vCISOs only handle board-room strategy.” Reality: Sure, sometimes they lead big projects (breach response plans, risk registers, program overhauls). But often, they cover the “grunt work” nobody has time for. Think answering a dozen vendor security questionnaires, running employee phishing drills, or drafting that new privacy policy. A vCISO takes on these repetitive but critical jobs, freeing your team to focus on daily ops.
- Myth 4: “They won’t understand our business.” Reality: The best vCISOs do know your industry. Many are ex-industry CISOs or specialists who jump industries easily. Also, vCISOs bring support teams, analysts and compliance experts who help tailor advice. You don’t get a random freelancer; you get an on-demand security leadership team with diverse backgrounds. Often a vCISO can spot a best practice from another sector that your in-house team missed.
Where Does a vCISO Fit? (Use Cases)
Let me share some common scenarios I’ve seen:
- Startup/Scale-up: Under ~100 employees. You have new customers, maybe sensitive data, and regulations creeping up. But your funding (and stress levels) can’t support a CISO hire yet. A vCISO can establish a security program, train staff, and get you audit-ready without derailing engineering.
- Rapid Growth Pains: You’re 100-500 people and moving fast. You will need a full-time CISO eventually but not right away. Using a vCISO now lets you build a foundation so that when the time comes to hire, you know exactly what role you need.
- Special Projects or Compliance: It’s audit season (SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, etc.) or you’ve had a near-miss. A vCISO can parachute in just for the engagement: lead the audit, fix gaps, and leave your team stronger and educated.
- Adjunct to an In-House Team: Some larger firms hire a CISO and still keep a vCISO on retainer. Why? Because expertise and workload fluctuate. In one hypergrowth company I know, during a recent merger & acquisition, they leaned on a vCISO to manage vendor due-diligence and integrate diverse IT environments.
- Sudden Leadership Gaps: Sometimes a CISO resigns or is poached, and the company can’t find a replacement fast enough. A vCISO can fill that leadership vacuum immediately, ensuring no drop in security oversight while you hunt for talent.
What Does This Mean for Your Organization?
To borrow a CEO’s question I once heard: “Are we hiring a person or a parachute?” Even as a CISO myself, I see that today’s SMBs often need the parachute approach. Not because we want to do less work, but because timing, budget, and flexibility matter.
- Better Coverage: Imagine if your security leader could bring lessons from a dozen companies. They see the patterns that only emerge across industries. That’s what a vCISO does. They don’t replace your core team; they enhance it. In practice, a vCISO works alongside your IT or security staff, steering projects, and mentor the team.
- Mitigating Risk Sooner: When the majority of businesses are hit by a cyberattack, waiting until a full-time hire is budgeted could be reckless. A vCISO can act fast. They often start in days or weeks. Contrast that with 3-6 months to recruit a CISO. For a growing company, every month without leadership is another month of unchecked risk.
- Budget Alignment: Companies I advise generally reach for a vCISO when they recognize “we can’t spare $250K in comp, but we must get serious about security.” Think of it like an insurance policy: you pay a predictable, modest sum for expert oversight, and you avoid the catastrophic cost of a breach.
- Culture & Communication: A known concern is culture fit. I admit, an outsider might not know every nuance of our company lingo or hierarchy. But sometimes that’s a feature, not a bug. A vCISO can ask tough questions that insiders might avoid and can nudge innovation from outside the echo chamber.
- Long-Term Vision: As the business grows, roles can evolve. We might begin with Sekaurity’s vCISO for six months, and later transition to a traditional hire. So hiring a vCISO today doesn’t lock you out of hiring a CISO later. It simply sets a baseline and buys time.
A Practitioner’s Takeaway
In 2025’s security wars, leadership is the new battleground. Every board I talk to now routinely asks, “Are we handling security with full-time leadership, or do we need outside expertise?” Sometimes the right answer is both: a CISO setting strategy and a vCISO filling gaps or accelerating initiatives.
Based on what I’ve seen, here’s one hard lesson: Not having any CISO-level leadership is a far bigger risk than choosing the wrong one. If your company has data to protect and regulations to meet, don’t assume “we’ll figure it out as we go.” The smartest companies I know have someone steering cybersecurity, whether in-house or virtual. SMBs in particular are waking up to this.
