Compliance programs
A vCISO owns the compliance program from gap analysis through certification. Whether you are working toward SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, CMMC, or a combination, your security leader manages the process so your team does not have to.
Fractional security services built around your program
SideChannel's fractional security services give your organization access to security leaders who have run programs across government, manufacturing, financial services, and global enterprises. Strategy, compliance, risk management, and hands-on execution from a team that integrates with yours.
Program leadership
A named security leader who owns your program all year. Monthly working sessions that drive decisions, quarterly business reviews for leadership, and board-ready documentation your team can stand behind.
Compliance and governance
Risk and framework assessments mapped to NIST CSF, SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, CMMC, and CIS Controls. Your vCISO owns the compliance program from gap analysis through audit, so you do not manage the process.
Technical coverage
Monthly vulnerability prioritization, configuration assessments across M365, cloud, email, and endpoint, incident response planning, and vendor risk reviews on a defined schedule.
Maps to CIS v8 ControlsNIST CSF alignedCMMC Level 2 readyHIPAA / PCI DSS supported
What fractional security services include
Fractional security services give organizations access to a named security leader on a part-time basis. You get strategic leadership, compliance program ownership, and hands-on technical coverage at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire, with no recruiting cycle.
SideChannel's fractional security practice is built around a single commitment: the same quality of security leadership that runs enterprise programs, available to any organization regardless of headcount or budget. Our vCISO service is the lead offering within that practice, supported by compliance, risk, engineering, and cloud security capabilities that run under the same program.
For pricing, 90-day engagement timelines, and a full breakdown of what a vCISO engagement delivers, see our Virtual CISO services page.
How SideChannel fits into your organization
Every engagement starts differently. Here is where we most often come in.
Board and leadership reporting
Your vCISO prepares board-ready reporting, translates technical risk into business language, and gives your leadership team the confidence to answer questions from the board, investors, and enterprise customers.
Fast security leadership
SideChannel fractional security engagements start within two weeks. A named security leader with full program context steps in, integrates with your team, and gets the program moving without a lengthy onboarding period.
AI governance
As boards and insurers ask harder questions about AI risk, your vCISO can lead the governance program, covering data handling policies, model risk assessment, and AI-related disclosure requirements.
What your fractional security program includes
Every SideChannel vCISO engagement includes a named security leader who owns your program all year. Here is what that looks like in practice.
What your first 90 days look like
Most clients have a complete risk assessment and prioritized roadmap within 30 days, board-ready reporting within 60 days, and an active compliance program underway by day 90.
Matching and kickoff
We match your organization with a named security leader based on your industry, compliance needs, and team size. Your engagement starts with a kickoff call to understand your business, your current security state, and what is most urgent.
Assessment and roadmap
Your security leader conducts an initial assessment, maps your current controls against the appropriate framework, identifies your highest-risk gaps, and delivers a prioritized 12-month roadmap with cost estimates and owner assignments.
Program in motion
Your security leader owns your active projects, including policy development, vendor reviews, compliance programs, and team training, all running on a defined cadence with weekly status updates, monthly executive summaries, and quarterly board briefings.
When something goes wrong
Your incident response plan is ready before you need it. If a breach or ransomware event occurs, your security leader activates the plan, coordinates with legal and regulators, and leads your recovery.
The strategy and the infrastructure, from the same team
SideChannel's vCISO practice and Enclave, our zero-trust security platform, are built to work together. When a security leader identifies a segmentation problem, a certificate risk, or a visibility gap, Enclave closes it.
Most organizations source security strategy and security infrastructure from different providers. At SideChannel, they come from the same team, which means the strategy is built around the infrastructure your organization can actually operate, and the infrastructure is deployed against the gaps your security leader has already identified.
A segmentation problemfound by a vCISO, closed by Enclave
A certificate riskfound by a vCISO, closed by Enclave
A visibility gapfound by a vCISO, closed by Enclave
Frequently Asked Questions
What are fractional security services?
Fractional security services give an organization a named security leader on a part-time basis. You get strategic leadership, compliance program ownership, and hands-on technical coverage at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire, with no recruiting cycle. SideChannel's security leaders have run programs across government, manufacturing, financial services, and global enterprises.
How are fractional security services different from a full-time security hire?
You get the same quality of security leadership that runs enterprise programs, without the cost or the recruiting cycle of a full-time hire. A named leader integrates with your team, owns the program all year, and starts within two weeks rather than the months a full-time search takes.
How quickly can a SideChannel engagement start?
SideChannel fractional security engagements start within two weeks. Most clients have a complete risk assessment and prioritized roadmap within 30 days, board-ready reporting within 60 days, and an active compliance program underway by day 90.
What is the difference between fractional security services and the vCISO service?
The vCISO service is the lead offering within SideChannel's fractional security practice. It is supported by compliance, risk, engineering, and cloud security capabilities that run under the same program, so fractional security services is the broader practice and the vCISO is the named leader who owns your program within it.
Which compliance frameworks do fractional security services cover?
SideChannel's fractional security program covers SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, CMMC, PCI DSS, NIST CSF, and CIS Controls. Your vCISO owns the compliance program from gap analysis through audit, managing the controls, the documentation, and the timeline.
Tell us where your program is today
Whether you need the strategy, the infrastructure, or both, we will help you figure out the right starting point.