By Richard Frost, Head of Consulting: Armata Cyber Security
Imagine a spider sitting at the very centre of its web.
It builds the web, strand by strand, into a perfectly designed entity, and then waits and watches.
When an insect enters the web, it takes the appropriate action.
Now compare this – with just a little poetic licence – to the role of your chief information security officer (CISO).
This person, like a spider, sits at the centre of the organisation’s security web, with wide-spread control and management. The CISO and team members are responsible for building, watching and maintaining all the security infrastructure across the organisation, and then reacting to intruders to make sure that ‘super-bugs’ don’t enter the organisation with ill-intent.
In short, a CISO is a highly-trained cybersecurity expert employed by an organisation to handle its IT security and compliance programmes.
CISO Qualifications and Certifications
To keep all organisational senses trained to prevent intruders, the CISO’s roles and responsibilities include the following:
- Designing and enforcing adherence to data security practices;
- Ensuring secure data privacy;
- Identifying security objectives and metrics;
- Choosing and purchasing security products from vendors;
- Managing the computer security incident response team;
- Conducting digital forensic investigations;
- Implementing cyber resiliency and disaster recovery plans;
- Conducting employee security awareness training;
- Developing secure business and communication practices; and
- Ensuring that the company is in regulatory compliance with the rules of relevant bodies.
Ideally, a CISO is typically a skilled leader and manager with a strong understanding of IT and security, who can communicate complicated security concepts to both technical and non-technical employees. CISOs also require experience in risk management and auditing.
However, this highly-skilled person is not always easily found, and comes at a price. Armata Cyber Security is therefore pleased to offer our virtual CISO (vCISO) services offering.
Why hire in one permanent person when you can outsource a team?
Armata vCISO Offering
The Armata vCISO Service is characterised by access to highly experienced cybersecurity professionals who can act as your organisation’s seconded CISO. The vCISO works closely with the company’s management team to develop and implement a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy and oversight on the protection of its digital assets.
In short, a vCISO service offers your organisation access to expert cybersecurity guidance and leadership without the need to hire a full-time CISO. This service helps your organisation strengthen its security posture, mitigate risks, and effectively manage cybersecurity challenges.
Benefits of the Armata vCISO Service
The benefits of working with the Armata vCISO Service include the following:
- Enhanced Security Posture: With a virtual CISO service, you benefit from the expertise and proactive approach of dedicated cybersecurity professionals. They can assess your organisation’s security posture, identify vulnerabilities, and implement effective security measures to mitigate risks. This proactive approach helps strengthen your security defences and reduce the likelihood of successful cyberattacks.
- Peace of Mind: You can focus on your business operations, knowing that experienced professionals are overseeing your cybersecurity strategy, monitoring threats, and implementing appropriate safeguards.
- Expertise and Experience: Virtual CISOs bring industry knowledge, best practices and a wealth of experience, which enables them to develop effective cybersecurity strategies and implement robust security measures tailored to your organisation’s specific needs.
- Cost-Effective: Hiring a full-time, in-house CISO can be costly, especially for small and medium-sized businesses. Virtual CISO services offer a more cost-effective alternative, allowing your organisation to access top level cybersecurity expertise on a flexible and affordable basis. You can engage a vCISO as needed.
- Scalability: The virtual nature of the service allows for scalability. As your organisation grows or undergoes changes, the vCISO service can adapt to meet your evolving cybersecurity needs. The vCISO service can scale up or down accordingly, providing the right level of expertise and support.
- Focus on Core Competencies: Outsourcing your cybersecurity needs to a vCISO service allows your internal IT team to focus on their core competencies and day-to-day operations.
- Objectivity and Independence: Virtual CISOs bring an objective and independent perspective to your organisation’s cybersecurity. They are not influenced by internal politics or biases.
- Access to a Network of Resources: Virtual CISO services often have access to a network of resources and partnerships, including security vendors, threat intelligence providers and industry associations. They can access these connections to enhance your organisation’s cybersecurity capabilities, collaborate with external experts, and stay updated with the latest industry trends and emerging threats.
- Continuity and Consistency: Employee turnover and attrition can disrupt the continuity of cybersecurity efforts within your organisation. By using a vCISO service, you can ensure consistent cybersecurity leadership and guidance even in the face of personnel changes.
- Regulatory Compliance: Virtual CISOs are well-versed in industry regulations and compliance requirements. Their expertise in compliance management reduces the risk of non-compliance, penalties and reputational damage.
With the addition of Cynomi as a vCISO tool, Armata can now report via a web frontend on the current Information Security posture of a client and track it against standards and frameworks like NIST, ISO 27001, GDPR, PCI-DSS and more. Cynomi can also track improvements from the vCISO service as the organisation aligns with a chosen path and allows for continuous reminders of actions required to stay compliant, as well as complete tasks to become compliant.
Armata’s vision is to deliver cyber intelligent solutions that help achieve zero business interruption to our customers, while maintaining the highest level of protection of our customers’ networks, business systems and data. Our purpose is to protect our customers from threats and attacks that could be material to their organisations staying in business.
To make enquires about our vCISO service, please contact us via telephone on 087 162 0010, or email on sales@armata.co.za.