However, needing to have a person who leads and directs the execution of cybersecurity management and governance activities is not always viable or easy. The availability of financial resources as well as the management of human resources may hinder achieving this objective under the different circumstances the company may face.

The CISO-as-a-Service (CISOaaS) model offered by Internet Security Auditors provides companies with limited resources or security strategies in the process of being defined or matured with cybersecurity leadership based, first, on the experience of professionals and, second, on a team that supports the service according to the needs generated by the business and the process itself.

The process followed in these projects is as follows:

The person responsible for the CISOaaS service at Internet Security Auditors, depending on the type of company and sector, as well as its level of maturity in security processes, must help ensure that the needs regarding risk level adapt to the particularities of the company, enabling the achievement of the established objectives within the determined timeframes. They will become the catalyst for the company’s cybersecurity goals.

The responsibilities of the external CISO may adapt to the client’s changes and progress and may include the following:

• Develop and implement information security policies.
• Lead and provide guidance on information security.
• Manage security compliance.
• Oversee the administration of information access control.
• Oversee regulatory compliance for information security.
• Supervise the organization’s information security incident response team (Identify, report, and control).
• Manage and supervise security testing.
• Conduct security assessments of third-party providers.
• Oversee information security architecture.
• Document or supervise the documentation of security processes.
• Define and execute security training and awareness.
• Perform and maintain risk management.

The benefits of having a CISOaaS are equivalent to those that justify the use of cloud services: access to experts who facilitate access to software, infrastructure, or other capabilities in a flexible way, in addition to the fact that knowledge transfer is part of the service, with the added value of having not only the CISO’s experience but also that of the team of cybersecurity experts at Internet Security Auditors, who provide constant support for any task that may be required.