Services / vCISO
APT Zero can guide your team, manage the complete program, or join your operating cadence as executive security leadership. Each engagement is shaped around your risks, obligations, and business objectives.
01 / Engagements
Choose how much security leadership and ownership to delegate. Every plan is senior-led and tailored to your organization’s operating context.
Save 15% with an annual engagement
Your team executes. We guide.
Strategic direction for organizations that can execute internally but need senior leadership to set priorities, assess risk, and review decisions.
per month
We manage the program.
Ongoing ownership of the security and compliance program for organizations that need coordinated execution and follow-through, not another list of recommendations.
per month
We join the team to lead and execute.
Embedded executive security leadership for complex programs, demanding audits, transformation initiatives, or organizations that need representation before the board and executive management plus medium- and long-term strategic security leadership alongside technology and business leadership.
per month
Advisory has no minimum commitment. Monthly engagements require a 3-month minimum for Managed and a 6-month minimum for Executive. Final pricing and scope depend on your environment, objectives, regulatory frameworks, and expected level of involvement.
02 / Hands-on support
We prioritize work against your risks, obligations, and objectives. Advisory guides and reviews; Managed runs the program; Executive adds embedded leadership and execution alongside your team.
We review trust boundaries, sensitive data paths, integrations, and design decisions that can create or reduce material risk.
We assess access, privileges, exposure, logging, secrets, and critical configuration. Hands-on remediation is defined by the engagement scope.
We align policies, procedures, control operation, and evidence with how the environment actually works.
We define technical validation tied to the roadmap. Penetration testing and specialized exercises are scoped separately when required.
We develop actionable plans, escalation paths, simulations, and leadership support to improve response clarity.
We support customer reviews, evidence requests, auditor coordination, and technical follow-through to close gaps.
03 / Ownership
APT Zero assesses, prioritizes, and reviews decisions. The client team implements changes and gathers evidence.
APT Zero runs program operations, develops deliverables, manages evidence, and coordinates remediation.
APT Zero joins the executive cadence and works alongside leadership and technology to drive execution.
04 / Frequently asked questions
A vCISO service provides executive cybersecurity leadership through a flexible and adaptable model, without the cost or time required to immediately hire a full-time in-house CISO.
Lower total cost. The organization gains executive experience without assuming a full-time salary, benefits, bonuses, vacation, and other costs associated with a permanent hire.
Faster implementation. A vCISO can be integrated within weeks, while identifying, hiring, and retaining an in-house CISO can take several months.
Multidisciplinary experience. The service brings expertise in governance, risk management, audits, compliance, incident response, cloud security, and vendor oversight.
Adaptable level of involvement. The company can select advisory support, ongoing program management, or embedded executive leadership based on its needs, budget, and maturity.
Access to a specialized team. Instead of relying exclusively on one person, the organization benefits from the knowledge and support of a business partner with multiple specialties.
Independent perspective. A vCISO provides an objective assessment of risk, helps establish priorities, and challenges practices that may have become normalized internally.
Continuity and reduced dependency. The service reduces the risk and dependency associated with vacation, turnover, or the departure of a single key person.
Structured execution. Beyond recommendations, a vCISO can develop roadmaps, organize documentation and evidence, coordinate audits, oversee vendors, and track remediation.
Scalability. The level of involvement can increase during audits, incidents, compliance initiatives, or technology transformations.
A vCISO is especially useful when the company:
An in-house CISO may be more appropriate for large, highly regulated organizations or those with complex security operations that require exclusive executive authority and daily availability.
For many companies, a vCISO is the most efficient starting point: it provides senior leadership, a clear execution structure, and immediate access to specialized expertise.
The right engagement depends on how much leadership and ownership you want to delegate, your team’s ability to execute, and the level of executive involvement you need.
This is the best fit when your team can execute internally but needs senior direction to establish priorities, review risk, and validate decisions. It includes a monthly security review, a 12-month roadmap, policy and control review, compliance guidance, and executive-ready recommendations. APT Zero guides and reviews while the client team implements changes. It provides a 48-hour response SLA via email and has no minimum commitment.
This is appropriate when you want to delegate ongoing security and compliance program operations. It includes everything in Advisory plus biweekly sessions, progressive organization of documentation and inventories, policy and evidence development, compliance initiative management, audit coordination, risk registers, executive reporting, and remediation follow-through. APT Zero manages deliverables and dependencies across teams and providers. It provides a 24-hour response SLA via email and requires a 3-month minimum commitment.
This is the right engagement when you need executive security leadership embedded in the operation. It adds a weekly cadence with leadership and technology, participation with executive management or the board, hands-on remediation support, oversight of vendors and cloud-hosted services, leadership across multiple frameworks, incident coordination, and security backlog tracking. It provides an 8-hour response SLA within 8×5 support hours, direct phone access to the consultant, and requires a 6-month minimum commitment.
In simple terms: Advisory guides, Managed runs the program, and Executive joins your organization to lead execution.
Yes. The engagement defines the overall level of leadership and ownership, while the scope can be tailored to your environment, risks, existing tools, and internal capabilities. In addition to the core plan deliverables, optional services can include:
These services are not automatically included in every plan. They are selected according to the organization’s priorities and risk profile, may be delivered directly by APT Zero or coordinated with specialized partners, and are scoped and priced separately when applicable.
An annual engagement applies a 15% discount to the monthly rate. The page shows both the effective monthly price and the total billed for 12 months.
Advisory has no minimum commitment. Managed requires a minimum of 3 months, and Executive requires a minimum of 6 months. The annual option is a 12-month plan.
We typically review the size and complexity of the environment, available team, priorities, regulatory obligations, upcoming audits, relevant risks, and response expectations.
05 / Next step
An initial conversation helps us understand your context, recommend the right engagement, and define a realistic scope.