vCISO
Fractional security leadership for organizations that need a program owner, not just a stack of tools.
Our vCISO services give regulated organizations a virtual CISO, or fractional CISO, when a full-time hire is more than they need, but the security work still has to get done. A vCISO owns the program: strategy, policies, vendor oversight, and the reporting that auditors, insurers, and boards expect to see. We work with healthcare practices, defense contractors, financial firms, and law firms that want a named leader accountable for the program, working alongside the cybersecurity services that put the controls in place.
The work is leadership and program ownership. The technical controls sit on our cybersecurity services page, and the two are meant to work together.
A named leader who owns the security strategy, sets priorities, and keeps the program moving. This is the accountability that auditors, insurers, and regulators expect to see, without the overhead of a full-time CISO.
Written security policies, standards, and a cadence for reviewing them, so the program is documented and can be explained when someone asks how decisions get made.
Guidance on security vendors and other third parties that touch sensitive systems, including what to ask, what to keep, and how to document the relationship.
Clear reporting on risk, progress, and open gaps, written for executives, boards, auditors, and insurers rather than as a raw list of tool alerts.
The responsibilities are the same. The difference is how the role is staffed.
Most mid-sized regulated organizations need the function, not a full-time executive. A fractional CISO covers the leadership work on a scoped basis.
Our vCISO services sit next to our cybersecurity services, so strategy, controls, and evidence can stay aligned instead of living in separate vendors.
These vCISO services are built for regulated organizations that need security leadership they can put in front of an auditor or a carrier. If that sounds like your industry, start here:
These case studies and leadership credentials show the kind of program work a vCISO is accountable for.
About the author
Ken Satkunam, CISM
President & Founder, NorthStar Technology Group
Ken has spent over 25 years in IT leadership, serving in roles from technical support to CIO for organizations as large as 23,000 employees. He founded NorthStar Technology Group in 2000 to help regulated organizations build secure, compliant, and operationally resilient technology environments. Ken holds the Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) credential from ISACA and is the co-author of the Amazon best-seller "Cyber Attack Prevention." He has been quoted in industry publications including eWeek and DM News, and NorthStar has been recognized on the Inc. 5000 list in both 2024 and 2025.
We can start with a conversation, or with our free Security and AI Readiness Check if you want a first look at external security signals.
