How Can Virtual CISOs Benefit Financial Institutions?
There are three broad areas where banks and credit unions may benefit from the services of a vCISO:
- Cost: According to research firm Gartner, total cash compensation for a full-time CISO now ranges from $208,000 to $337,000 per year. And while experienced CISOs are well worth the cost, many banks simply don’t have this kind of money in their staffing budget, especially as they look to navigate the new landscape of mobile-driven, post-pandemic finance.
Virtual CISOs can help financial institutions save money without sacrificing security. Instead of paying for a full-time, salaried employee, organizations can hire a vCISO on a contractual basis. Need help for three months? Six? No problem. Companies can find a best-fit vCISO who understands the industry, then leverage his or her talents for a specified period to accomplish a specific task or complete top-priority projects. Once the contract is complete, no obligations exist on either side.
- Compliance: CISOs can also help banks meet regulatory compliance. This is critical as compliance expectations continue to evolve: As of April 1, 2022, banking organizations are required to report any “significant” cybersecurity incident within 36 hours of discovery. In practice, “significant” means an incident that materially affects the ability of a bank to deliver its products or services or that negatively impacts the viability of its operations. Virtual CISOs can pinpoint potential vulnerabilities to reduce the risk of compromise and assess the damage done by cybersecurity attacks to determine if incidents must be reported.
- Confidence: The expanding use of cloud and mobile technologies in banking coupled with the rapidly changing nature of security threats often leaves staff and leaders uneasy, unsure of when, where or how new attacks will happen. By engaging vCISOs, however, financial firms gain the peace of mind that comes with in-depth knowledge and expertise. While it’s possible for banks to follow do-it-yourself security frameworks using available solutions and staff, vCISOs are experienced security contractors who have identified, addressed and remediated problems across a host of network configurations and infrastructure models.
While hiring a permanent CISO may not be in the cards for an institution, a vCISO can offer the best of both worlds: real value without the cost and complexity that comes with hiring full-time staff.
This article is part of BizTech's EquITy blog series. Please join the discussion on Twitter by using the #FinanceTech hashtag.