Virtual CISOs Mature Cybersecurity Programs Across Industries

Solving for cybersecurity complexities with WWT Virtual CISO Services

It takes a lot for organizations to cover their cybersecurity bases. Limited budgets, emerging threats and talent shortages leave many overexposed to attacks and underprepared for compliance audits.

WWT Virtual CISO (vCISO) Services solve for these complexities by providing organizations with seasoned, battle-tested consultants who know how advance and mature cybersecurity programs that are both practical and achievable.  

Here's how three organizations from different industries are benefitting from working with a WWT Virtual CISO. 

Manufacturer reduces OT risks

A manufacturing company wanted to secure their operational technology (OT) environment but lacked an in-house security team that could identify high-value assets and develop appropriate controls. The organization onboarded a full-time WWT Virtual CISO for one year. Serving as a trusted advisor, our Virtual CISO:

• Developed a risk register for high-value OT assets.
• Identified shortcomings in reporting and closed numerous gaps in data protection by expanding the organization's Microsoft 365 E3 license to an E5 license.
• Identified staffing opportunities and conducted interviews for in-house security hires, vetting candidates through the client's interview process.

Results

The manufacturing company now has documentation that can be presented to executives to align risk mitigation efforts to business goals. By using advanced Microsoft security tools, the organization can retire overlapping tools in their environment, lowering technology costs overall through the E5 investment. The organization also has defined parameters for new security hires as they continue to expand their in-house security staff.

Healthcare system secures new clinical network 

A healthcare system was building out a greenfield network to connect its many hospitals and clinics. However, the organization didn't have a CISO to ensure security controls could be applied uniformly across new technologies. The organization onboarded a full-time WWT Virtual CISO for one year. Serving as a trusted advisor, our Virtual CISO:

• Reconciled the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) resiliency matrix against the organization's security toolset, finding economies of scale and leveraging existing capabilities throughout the enterprise.
• Oversaw the deployment of Cisco ISE for network access control and Cisco Umbrella for cloud security.
• Established a governance program that covered new technologies deployed during the engagement and included documentation for compliance audits.

Results

The healthcare system now has a centrally managed security infrastructure to ensure uniform patching and configurations. With an industry-leading framework tailored to their business, the organization can also ensure devices, applications and users are protected. Additionally, the organization can demonstrate its ability to identify, detect, respond and recover from incidents as part of regular compliance reporting.

Financial firm closes compliance gaps

A financial firm needed to develop compliance procedures to meet regulatory requirements. However, the firm's limited security budget prevented them from hiring a permanent CISO who could drive a cyber risk program across technology teams. The firm onboarded a full-time WWT Virtual CISO for one year. Serving as a trusted advisor, our Virtual CISO:

• Developed threat and vulnerability management and security governance programs.
• Developed and implemented an incident response plan.
• Created a roadmap aligned to the business that included strategic recommendations for continued maturity and clear direction for developing security technologies.

Results

The financial firm has closed security gaps in their current environment based on business risks. Additionally, the organization is well prepared for upcoming compliance audits with documentation that it can maintain going forward. Now that the organization has a mature cybersecurity program in place, it is looking at ways to consolidate its security tools based on recommendations from WWT.