What Is a vCISO and Who Needs One?
A Virtual CISO (vCISO) is an experienced cybersecurity executive who provides strategic security leadership, policy governance, and compliance oversight on a part-time, outsourced basis. For growing UAE businesses that need CISO-level capability but cannot justify a full-time hire at AED 60,000–120,000 per month, a vCISO delivers the same value at a fraction of the cost. Common use cases include: DIFC/DFSA-regulated firms that need a designated CISO for compliance purposes, startups preparing for Series A due diligence security reviews, government-contracted companies that need NESA alignment, and enterprises that lost their CISO and need interim coverage. Cyronix vCISO engagements are led by consultants holding OSCP, CISSP, and OSEP certifications with 10+ years of enterprise security leadership experience.
What's Included in a Cyronix vCISO Engagement
A Cyronix vCISO retainer is structured around your organisation's maturity, risk profile, and compliance obligations. Core deliverables include: Security strategy development — a 12-month security roadmap aligned to your business objectives, risk appetite, and regulatory obligations (NESA, DFSA, ISO 27001). Policy and governance — development and maintenance of your information security policies, procedures, and risk register. Risk management — quarterly security risk assessments and board-level risk reporting in a format suitable for UAE regulatory submissions. Vendor and third-party risk management — security review of all technology vendors and critical suppliers. Incident response leadership — on-call escalation as the executive decision-maker for significant security incidents. Compliance oversight — continuous monitoring of NESA, DFSA, ISO 27001, and GDPR obligations, ensuring your programme remains audit-ready at all times.
vCISO Pricing for UAE Businesses — Three Tiers
Cyronix vCISO retainers are structured in three tiers. Starter (AED 8,000/month) — suitable for SMEs and startups beginning their security journey: 8 hours/month of vCISO time, security strategy review, policy templates, and quarterly risk reporting. Growth (AED 14,000/month) — for scaling businesses with compliance obligations: 20 hours/month, full ISMS governance, vendor risk management, and incident response on-call coverage. Enterprise (AED 22,000/month) — for DFSA/NESA-regulated entities with board-level reporting requirements: 40+ hours/month, dedicated point-of-contact, and regulatory liaison support. All tiers include a 30-minute discovery call, a written scope of work, and a 3-month minimum engagement with monthly renewal.