CISO as-a-service

Virtual CISO Services: Strategic, Advisory, On-Demand.

As a CIO or IT Director the chances are you’ve inherited responsibility for cyber security without the right resources or capacity to do anything about it. You know it’s a problem, and you’re probably coming under increasing pressure from partners, customers and internal stakeholders to demonstrate how secure you are. You could hire a full-time, permanent CISO to own the agenda and direct any existing resources, but they’re difficult to recruit, expensive and might be overkill for what you need right now. What you need is proven experience, expertise, leadership, and pragmatism – but when you need it and at an affordable cost. Astra Consulting have got the answer; an outsourced CISO as-a-service (CISOaaS).

Our CISOaaS provides your organization with a suitably experienced and qualified on-demand security leader, supported by a multi-disciplined team of security experts and Astra Consutling’s full knowledge base. The CISOaaS is perfect for organizations that need great leadership in cyber security, but don’t have the requirement or resources to recruit a permanent, full-time CISO.

The CISOaaS provides the right level of objective leadership and support, via a combination of scheduled and flexible time, and tailored to your specific requirements. This might be for a few days a month or on a more regular basis.

Typically, your CISO will:

  • Advise your board and executive team – attend and advise at board meetings and audit committee meetings, reassuring executives they’re correctly fulfilling duty of care obligations
  • Own the information security risk management process and advising on risk remediation to minimize risks and vulnerabilities – gain a comprehensive overview of your organization’s danger areas, along with an implementation plan to secure and strengthen your procedures and policies
  • Provide independent oversight and governance – to advise on the best approach for your organization to manage cyber security risk and compliance, and satisfy relevant laws and regulatory frameworks
  • Advise on the best strategy for assessing your organizational security posture – pave the way for transformative activities and delivery of security roadmaps by applying the latest knowledge and techniques, proven to deliver results across multiple clients and sectors

Per your requirements, your CISOaaS can also take on discreet activities that your existing team can’t, such as:

  • Overseeing tactical issues – supply your organization with a source of expertise and experience, based on cross-industry cyber risk trends. In order to operate key cyber security controls such as performing user access reviews for critical systems and monitoring your cloud systems, e.g. Office 365, to ensure your technical controls are robust
  • Leading effective incident response – offer a wealth of experience to supply your organization with the leadership needed to reduce and manage impact when incidents inevitably happen
  • Coaching and training – working closely with your existing team to upskill them and develop the most effective and impactful way of training your organization to face today’s cyber security threats
  • Evaluating emerging cyber security products – identify third-party suppliers using an established network of contacts, help find and fix unnecessary dependencies, and gain stakeholder buy-in

Education & Awareness

Empower your greatest assets with Astra Consulting

You can have the most powerful cyber security system in the world. However, hackers will always head to the weakest link to look for a way in – your employees. That’s why we offer bespoke education and awareness training to counter today’s sophisticated attack methods – such as phishing, ransomware, malware, and social engineering attacks.

Tell us about your organization and we’ll develop a customized training solution to reduce your cyber security risks. This includes advising, implementing, and embedding good practices around:

  • Baseline assessments
    Determining what falls within scope for your cyber security strategy
  • Training plans
    These can include mandatory CBT modules, OWASP-based coding training for developers, specialist training for high-risk handlers (PCI DSS compliance)
  • Simulated phishing
    Educating employees on how to spot a phishing email
  • Awareness campaigns
    Embedding a culture of security within your organization
  • Reporting & monitoring
  • Establishing the metrics, KPIs and mechanisms for your organization’s cyber security needs