Security leadership is not a part-time job. But it does not have to be a full-time hire.
A CISO is responsible for security strategy, regulatory compliance, board communication, risk oversight, vendor management, and crisis response. That breadth of responsibility requires real experience — and real experience is expensive, scarce, and often misaligned with the actual demand profile of a growing or mid-sized organisation.
Nomios Virtual CISO provides experienced security leadership on a fractional, interim, or advisory basis — giving organisations the strategic capability they need at the level they need it, backed by the full depth of the Nomios organisation behind every engagement.
Three situations where vCISO makes sense
- You have passed the point where IT handles security informally, but you are not yet large enough to justify a full-time senior hire. A fractional vCISO fills that gap — and helps you prepare for the day when you are.
- NIS2, DORA, or ISO 27001 are driving requirements that need senior ownership. A vCISO provides the programme leadership to meet those obligations without adding permanent headcount.
- Your CISO has left and the right permanent replacement has not been found yet. An interim vCISO maintains leadership continuity, keeps the programme moving, and helps define what you need in the next hire.
Growing organisations
Organisations facing regulatory pressure
Organisations between CISOs
The full scope of security leadership
A Nomios vCISO is not a consultant who delivers a report and leaves. They take active ownership of your security programme — present, engaged, and accountable for outcomes.
- Defining your security direction, prioritising investment, and building a multi-year roadmap aligned to your business objectives and risk appetite.
- epresenting security at board level — translating risk into business language, presenting to leadership, and ensuring security decisions receive the attention they deserve.
- Taking ownership of NIS2, DORA, ISO 27001, and other applicable compliance obligations — driving the programme, managing evidence, and engaging with regulators and auditors on your behalf.
- Leading the organisational response to significant security incidents — providing the calm, experienced leadership that prevents a technical event from becoming a business crisis.
- Owning the day-to-day security programme — vendor management, policy maintenance, risk register oversight, and team leadership — as an active senior member of your organisation.
- Evaluating security technology decisions, managing vendor relationships, and ensuring your security investments are aligned to your actual risk — not to a vendor's sales narrative.
Security strategy & roadmap
Board & executive communication
Regulatory & compliance ownership
Incident & crisis management
Security programme ownership
Technology & vendor oversight
The right level of involvement for your situation
Virtual CISO engagements are flexible by design — structured around what your organisation actually needs.
Fractional
Fractional CISO
A dedicated Nomios vCISO working with your organisation on a part-time, ongoing basis — typically one to three days per week. Present enough to own the programme, flexible enough to fit your budget.
- Defined number of days per month
- Regular on-site or remote presence
- Ongoing programme ownership & leadership
- Available for urgent escalations outside scheduled days
Interim
Interim CISO
Full-time security leadership for a defined period — covering a CISO departure, a major compliance programme, or a transformation initiative that needs dedicated senior ownership.
- Full-time for a fixed term
- Seamless continuity from day one
- Supports permanent hire process
- Structured knowledge transfer at handover
Advisory
CISO advisory & board support
A senior Nomios advisor available to your existing CISO or leadership team — for peer review, board preparation, independent challenge, and escalation support on complex decisions.
- Board presentation support & coaching
- Independent review of strategy & decisions
- Regulatory engagement support
- Available on-demand or on retainer
Start-up / scale-up
First CISO for growing organisations
For organisations that have never had dedicated security leadership — building the foundation from scratch, establishing governance, and creating the programme that will support your next stage of growth.
- Security programme design from zero
- Policy & governance framework build
- Regulatory readiness for NIS2, ISO 27001
- Hiring support when the time comes for a permanent CISO
What makes our vCISO service different
Real CISOs, not consultants playing one
- Our vCISOs have held actual CISO and security leadership positions — they have built security programmes, presented to boards, managed incidents, and engaged with regulators. They know what the role demands.
The full Nomios capability behind them
- Your vCISO is not a solo practitioner. They have access to Nomios' full technical depth — bringing in specialists for penetration testing, identity, cloud security, or OT as the programme requires.
European regulatory expertise
- Our vCISOs understand the European regulatory environment — NIS2, DORA, GDPR — as practitioners, not advisors who have read the legislation. That matters when you are in front of a regulator.
A path to permanent leadership
- If the goal is to hire a permanent CISO, we help you get there — defining the role, setting the programme up for success, and supporting the transition so the incoming hire inherits a functioning programme.
What would a great CISO do for your organisation?
Tell us where you are — no security programme, an underfunded one, or a gap in leadership — and we will tell you what a Nomios vCISO engagement would look like in practice.
