Is hiring a vCISO the most cost-effective way for financial institutions to mitigate cybersecurity risks?
While financial institutions have long needed to guard against cybersecurity threats, today’s threat environment grows ever more complex. AI has created a wave of new dangers — not just in the hands of attackers, but also when used by your own team — while longstanding risks like phishing scams, ransomware attacks and third-party data breaches remain present.
To protect themselves from this web of cybersecurity challenges, more financial institutions are turning to a fractional or virtual chief information security officer (vCISO) as a more cost-effective alternative to a full-time CISO. Could this make sense for your institution as well?
Keep reading to learn more.
Financial institutions must mitigate cybersecurity risks like phishing, third-party data breaches and AI
Financial institutions must manage cybersecurity risks stemming from both external attackers and internal mistakes. Key risk areas include:
- Business email compromise: During this type of attack, often called a phishing scam, an attacker will attempt to gain unauthorized access to your systems via fraudulent email messages.
- Ransomware attack: Business email compromise can sometimes lead to a ransomware attack, during which a hacker is able to block you from accessing your core systems or critical data until you pay a ransom.
- Business continuity disaster recovery: As financial institutions increasingly transition onto cloud-based systems, many have not yet adapted their disaster recovery strategies to adjust to this change.
- AI risks: Some of the biggest AI-related risks are actually about how your own team uses it, like poor governance or shadow AI use that can lead to your private data being fed into public AI models, with unpredictable consequences. Also watch for SaaS vendors who add AI features into platforms you already use before your IT team can vet them for operational or security risks.
- Third-party data risks: A data breach at one of your software or IT vendors can expose any data you shared with that vendor — even if your own security remains fully intact. Financial institutions are more likely to suffer from this kind of data breach than experience a successful direct cyberattack.
Managing these risks in a proactive, strategic way is beyond the purview of your regular IT team. That’s why some institutions hire a CISO.
How does a vCISO help you defend your financial institution from cyberthreats?
A vCISO is a C-suite-level fractional executive who leads your cybersecurity and cyber risk management efforts. Your vCISO’s primary responsibility is to mitigate your everyday and strategic risks in areas like data security, technology and AI, while also serving as a bridge between your IT team and your other executives.
Look to a vCISO to:
- Bolster your cybersecurity: A vCISO takes the lead on cybersecurity inside your C-suite. vCISO responsibilities include assessing your current defenses, finding gaps and implementing an up-to-date cybersecurity strategy.
- Lead AI governance and security efforts: Your vCISO will also take charge of your AI governance and security policies. Good AI governance can help ward off shadow AI risks, reducing the chance that team members unthinkingly share your business or customer data with unauthorized or public AI systems.
- Manage third-party data security risks: A skilled vCISO will also know how to map out your third-party data risks and assess whether your vendors are taking sufficient steps to secure the data you share with them.
- Bridge the gap between C-suite and IT: A vCISO serves as a crucial conduit between your executive offices and your frontline IT team, able to speak the language of both groups and advocate for the latter before the former.
Now, if a vCISO is such an asset, shouldn’t you just hire a full-time CISO instead? Not always.
Why should your financial institution hire a vCISO rather than a full-time CISO?
If your financial institution wants stronger cybersecurity but doesn’t have the need (or budget) for a full-time CISO, a vCISO or fractional CISO can deliver the same level of insight, experience and strategic capability for a fraction of the cost. Onboarding a vCISO can also give you a broader perspective on how the financial services industry as a whole is tackling cybersecurity.
Key benefits to hiring a vCISO include:
Cost-effective security leadership
Unless you actually need 40+ hours a week of strategic cybersecurity leadership — and most financial institutions don’t — it may not make sense to pay a mid-six-figure salary plus benefits to a full-time CISO. A vCISO typically costs dramatically less than a full-time hire, while providing the level of support your business requires.
Scalable support
You can hire a vCISO for two hours a week, or 20. If you’re growing your business, your vCISO support can grow along with it, and you can also choose to engage a vCISO on a per-project or time-limited basis. A vCISO can also go back and forth between providing strategic leadership and taking charge of implementing or executing on individual projects.
Regulatory goodwill
Financial regulators no longer want to see one IT director managing both your IT and cybersecurity. Hiring a vCISO eliminates this problem and also keeps most cybersecurity matters off your CFO’s or COO’s plate. (Some forward-thinking institutions are doubling down on this approach by hiring a full-time CIO to implement their overall technology strategy and working with a vCISO to manage cybersecurity.)
Broad industry awareness
An experienced vCISO will typically have worked with dozens of financial institutions. You’ll gain access to that big-picture awareness — which can’t be matched by someone who has worked only as an in-house CISO — to better understand how the financial services industry as a whole is solving cybersecurity challenges.
Coaching and leadership development
If you have promising in-house IT staff who want more responsibility but lack the strategic skills to take on a CISO role themselves, a vCISO can help prepare them to move up. This allows you to shore up your cybersecurity now while also creating a path forward for your top talent.
What is the process for hiring a vCISO?
Hiring a vCISO should be a relatively straightforward process. There are three major steps:
1. Find a cybersecurity and risk management advisory firm.
2. Assess your specific needs and develop a cybersecurity roadmap.
3. Onboard a vCISO (typically provided by the advisory firm) to oversee implementing your roadmap.
As you consider which cybersecurity advisory firm to hire, make sure that you’ll only be paying for the level of vCISO service that you actually need. Don’t get locked into 15 hours a week of vCISO support if you only need five.
How Wipfli can help
We advise financial institutions on performance, growth, compliance, risk management and cybersecurity. Let’s talk about how services like a vCISO can make your institution stronger and safer. Start a conversation.
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