Customers send security questionnaires, insurers ask for MFA and backups, and someone on the team ends up owning security on top of their real job. That is usually the moment a small company starts looking at a fractional CISO.
What a fractional CISO does
- Owns the security plan and keeps it moving month to month.
- Answers customer security questionnaires and joins vendor review calls.
- Picks the few controls that matter most for your size and budget.
- Works with your IT provider or engineers so fixes actually get done.
- Reports to leadership in plain language.
Fractional versus full-time
A full-time CISO makes sense when security work fills a week every week. Before then, you mostly need judgment and follow through. With a fractional arrangement you work with me directly, for a predictable number of days, and you can scale up or down as you grow.
My prices
- Office Hours: $1,250 per month for four hours of my time. Good for questionnaires, planning and a standing check in.
- Hourly Advisory: $225 per hour, no retainer. Good for a specific decision, a vendor review or a second opinion. When you need projects run every week with a service level, my firm Dark Edge Consulting offers vCISO and vCTO retainers.
I hold the CISSP and CCSP and have more than 20 years in security and technology. I keep my client list small on purpose so each client gets real attention.
If any of this sounds like your situation, book a 30-minute call and tell me a little about your organization. I reply personally.
Need ongoing management? See Dark Edge plans.