How Virtual CISO Services Ensure Cybersecurity Compliance

Introduction

Data security breaches have become common for businesses of all sizes in the current technology landscape. Specific lingering vulnerabilities in the cybersecurity system may compromise the company’s sensitive data. A Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), or  CISO-as-a-Service, becomes crucial in offering strategic solutions to counter underlying cybersecurity or information security concerns. 

Mitigating cybersecurity risks, implementing best practices, and ensuring compliance with the ever-changing landscape of cybersecurity regulations are the key responsibilities of a CISO.

CISOs understand compliance as a fluid entity that must be shaped accordingly to identify and address the evolving risk patterns. They transform compliance into a strategic tool, rather than merely coining it as a “necessary evil,” to help your business assess and manage emerging cyber risks. 

CISOaaS, or the fractional CISO  service provider, is expected to focus on how compliance can be a comprehensive approach to cybersecurity risk management following the latest transformations across the digital landscape, such as the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI). 

Are Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) Helpful For Ensuring Regulatory Requirements? 

Chief Information Security Officers, or CISOs, ensure that an enterprise complies with the relevant cybersecurity regulations that align with their business conditions. The regulatory requirements businesses need to follow vary according to the industry type. Some common ones are PCI DSS, CCPA, HIPAA, GDPR, etc. This blog, written by the HDFC Ergo team, gives a gist of the regulatory framework in India. If your enterprise fails to comply with these regulations, it can lead to huge penalties and reputational damage. 

There have been further changes in the cybersecurity regulatory space in India in 2024. The blog written by LexOrbis summarizes it in a nutshell.

Opting For CISO as a Service Can Prove to be More Beneficial

Compared to a full-time CISO, CISO as a Service boosts accessibility to a diversely experienced team of experts who help tackle complicated compliance requirements and provide affordable solutions. 

The CISOaaS providers offer flexibility to scale resources as needed for compliance initiatives and enable faster implementation of these by harnessing the existing frameworks. This service is highly advantageous for SMEs and startup businesses as it does not entail huge fixed costs and a time-consuming onboarding process and allows seamless transition in case of replacement.

What is “CISO-as-a-Service”? 

CISO-as-a-Service, or fractional CISOs, are outsourced cybersecurity experts who offer their services on a shared basis.  This service allows enterprises access to experienced CISOs without hiring a full-time in-house executive. It helps enterprises map, curate, and implement a cybersecurity infrastructure or program to:

• Assess risks and manage cyber incidents
• Ensure compliance with relevant regulations and standards
• Manage Immediate incident response, risk aversion policies, and crisis  situations
• Plan strategic security and governance policies

 Outsourced CISOaaS provides an unbiased third-party perspective on compliance gaps and areas for improvement.  They can help maintain continuity in compliance efforts and security initiatives in case of an abrupt CISO change.  CISOaaS helps maintain a detailed and established documentation process to ensure a smooth handoff to the potential succeeding CISO.

How Can a CISO Help With Ensuring Compliance Solutions?

CISO-as-a-service helps identify non-compliance areas of non-compliance within your enterprise and then map specific strategies to address or overcome them. They evaluate the existing cybersecurity structure of the enterprise and develop procedures that focus on protective tech, access control, and data security. Additionally, CISOs assist in addressing non-compliance challenges and ensure that businesses are prepared for compliance audits. 

The number and forms of cybersecurity threats are also evolving with the changing technological outlook. When an enterprise is conscious of the extent of non-compliance and the looming security threat, CISO ensures that the cybersecurity regulations are cost-effective and less time-consuming. It has begun prioritizing cloud, Robotic Process Automation (RPA), and data analytics for cybersecurity investments.  

Proficient Means by CISOaaS  to Approach Compliance & Regulatory Requirements

The best way to identify the required compliance and regulatory measures is to start with understanding the business size, geographical location, industry type, and extent of data sensitivity, among other factors, and then assess the nature and the extent of information security risks. 

For example, executing broad cybersecurity compliance frameworks such as ISO and NIST CSF reduces and manages cybersecurity risks to an enterprise’s data and network. These are significant for almost all types and sizes of enterprises.

However, healthcare organizations, banks, or e-commerce companies would have industry-specific compliance regulations they need to follow. 

There are four underlying elements that CISO as a service providers have to take into consideration to achieve compliance and mitigate security risks:

• Regulatory requirements of the business: Identifying the compliance requirements for the industry as they may vary 
• Governance practices: Understanding governance practices and implementing effective governance policies.
• Risk management: Studying risk mitigation and management processes that comprise risk assessment, identification, prioritization, and mitigation. 
• Prioritizing and reporting potential risks: Documenting, reviewing, and structuring risks by priority so the leaders can brainstorm on appropriate actions before implementation. 

The Chief Information Security Officer is not a lone ranger in ensuring compliance. Their partnership with legal teams, audit committees, or privacy officers can identify and address changing compliance requirements. CISOs and these teams act as intermediaries and communicate effectively with regulators, auditors, and security teams to demonstrate compliance with best practices.

Not only do they curate techniques to help streamline the assessment process, but they also help align common security frameworks such as Multi-Factor Authentic (MFA), Privileged Access Management (PAM), role-based access controls, etc., across the same compliance bodies. 

“Secure Your Business. Compliance Alone Won’t Protect!.”

Reviewing risks associated with non-compliance and communicating them to top management need to be prioritized before implementing compliance practices. In most businesses, compliance might be the minimum requirement on a long list of cybersecurity regulations. Hence, risk reduction goes hand-in-hand with compliance.

We need to ask – Is your business prepared to handle non-compliance risks? 

Understandably, technological risks can lead to business risks. This can result in hefty regulatory fines or lawsuits, whereas the security gaps can lead to revenue loss and ransomware payments. On the other hand, meeting the compliance requirements contributes to a boost in sales, increased business value, strong shareholder partnerships, and low cybersecurity insurance charges. 

In alignment with certain business conditions, your enterprise should carefully balance the costs and benefits of ensuring compliance against non-compliance costs of non-compliance. Even if your business does not establish full-fledged compliance-dependent initiatives, you can still use compliance initiatives, priority programs, and “must-have” solutions to guide risk management. This helps mitigate security risks to acceptable or affordable levels e for your business. 

Choose CISO Service Providers to Ensure Effective Cybersecurity Compliance

CISO service can be tailored according to the specific needs of an enterprise. These allow scalability when the compliance requirements change or the business grows. CISOaaS is a flexible service of seasoned cybersecurity or information security professionals who ensure that the security and compliance initiatives are adaptable to the changes in the business. They save a start-up or SME from a significant financial burden by avoiding any overhead costs of permanent or full-time CISO hires. 

Your enterprise can use the resources offered by the CISO service provider to cautiously study data breaches and security incidents and enhance the overall cybersecurity infrastructure. The providers can help your business reduce non-compliance fines and legal consequences by offering assurance and ensuring regulatory compliance. 

Opt for CTO Bridge, Your Trusted Partner in Cybersecurity Excellence!

As a CISO service provider, CTO Bridge offers expert leadership and guidance to ensure your company’s cybersecurity compliance. Our experienced and highly knowledgeable CISOs provide strategic oversight and personalized security measures to align with your business needs.