Virtual CISO (vCISO) services for startups
A virtual CISO and a fractional CISO are the same thing: a senior security leader who owns your outcomes part-time, on a retainer, instead of as a full-time hire. Whichever term you searched for, this is the service, delivered remotely across Canada and the US.
What a vCISO actually does for you
- Own your compliance program status, so SOC 2 or ISO 27001 stays on track instead of drifting between check-ins.
- Answer or route security questionnaires as they land, so a stalled deal starts moving again.
- Sit in on the monthly security leadership call and give your team and board a straight answer on where you stand.
- Review cloud and infrastructure posture on a quarterly cadence, ahead of what an auditor or attacker finds first.
- Keep controls, evidence, and deadlines current, whether that lives inside a compliance platform you already run or in a plan we track for you.
Three steps from stalled to audit-ready
Scoping call
A 30-minute call to understand what triggered the need, whether that is a customer questionnaire, an investor question, or an insurance renewal, and what a good outcome looks like for you.
Gap assessment and plan
A scored view of where you stand today against SOC 2 or ISO 27001, with a prioritized, dated plan to get audit-ready rather than a guess.
Retainer or fixed-scope engagement
Either a monthly vCISO retainer as your acting security leader, or a fixed-scope sprint, such as the SOC 2 readiness sprint, to a specific outcome.
What changes as your company grows
Pre-revenue and early seed
The trigger is usually a single enterprise prospect or an investor question. Scope is narrow: a security questionnaire answered accurately, a handful of policies written, and a plan for what SOC 2 will actually require once you sign that first big customer.
Series A, first enterprise deals
A vCISO scopes and runs the SOC 2 or ISO 27001 program end to end: trust criteria, controls mapped to your actual stack, an evidence process, and auditor management through fieldwork. This is the stage most vCISO retainers start.
Series B and later, multiple frameworks
Scope expands to board and investor-facing security reporting, a vendor risk program, and often a second framework running in parallel with the first. The vCISO becomes the standing security function until a full-time hire makes sense.
The moment a US-facing startup reaches for a vCISO
A US enterprise customer sends a security questionnaire or will not sign until you can show a SOC 2 report.
A US-based investor or acquirer puts your security posture under diligence ahead of a raise or a deal.
A cyber-insurance renewal now asks for controls you have not implemented yet.
Your team is remote and distributed across Canada and the US, and no one owns security as more than a side task.
What a vCISO retainer costs
Xorabyte prices a vCISO retainer in three tiers, all in USD. Essentials runs $4,000 a month for about 10 hours of senior security leadership, monthly reporting, and questionnaire support. Growth runs $7,000 to $7,500 a month for about 20 hours, active audit-period support, and board-facing reporting. Command runs $10,000 to $12,000 a month for about 30 to 35 hours and full audit management across multiple frameworks. Fixed-scope work sits alongside the retainers: an audit-readiness gap assessment at $6,000 to $9,000, and a SOC 2 readiness sprint at $12,000 to $20,000. The full ladder, including the founding-client rate, is on the pricing page.
Xorabyte is founder-led by Arif Mohamed, a senior security engineer who has taken a company through SOC 2 end to end, personally and solo: scoping, control implementation, evidence collection, and auditor management. Engagements are delivered by the practitioner who has configured the cloud resources and sat through the audit, not a bench, and not a summary of someone else's report. Earlier experience at ISA Cybersecurity, one of Canada's largest security firms.
vCISO vs fractional CISO vs full-time CISO
Virtual CISO and fractional CISO are the same arrangement described two ways. Both mean a senior security leader owns your outcomes part-time, on a retainer, rather than joining as a full-time executive. Neither term implies a difference in seniority, scope, or price at Xorabyte; pick whichever one your team already uses. For the full picture of the service under the fractional label, see fractional CISO services.
A full-time CISO is a different commitment: a salaried executive hire, usually justified once a company has enough security surface or headcount to need one every day. A vCISO gives you the same seniority and accountability part-time, sized to a startup budget, and is the more common starting point before a full-time hire makes sense. See vCISO vs full-time CISO for cost, scope, and accountability side by side.
Where the vCISO goes to work
SOC 2 readiness
Your virtual CISO owns the path to SOC 2, end to end: scoping the right trust criteria, implementing controls against your actual stack, building the evidence process, and managing the auditor through fieldwork. The goal is a report your enterprise buyers accept, without your engineers losing a quarter to it. See SOC 2 readiness.
Security questionnaires
When a customer blocks a deal with a security questionnaire, your vCISO answers it accurately and fast, and flags the few items that need a real fix rather than a wording change. A stalled deal starts moving again. See security questionnaire help.
Cloud security reviews
Your vCISO reviews your cloud for the misconfigurations an auditor or an attacker finds first: access, networking, logging, and exposure, with prioritized findings and clear fixes. See cloud security review.
Xorabyte is founder-led, so you work with the practitioner who has actually taken a company through SOC 2 and configured the cloud, not a bench. For the full picture, read the fractional CISO page, or see pricing.
Virtual CISO FAQ
What does a vCISO cost?
A vCISO retainer at Xorabyte starts at $4,000 a month for Essentials (about 10 hours a month), runs $7,000 to $7,500 a month for Growth (about 20 hours), and $10,000 to $12,000 a month for Command (about 30 to 35 hours). Fixed-scope work is separate: a $6,000 to $9,000 audit-readiness gap assessment and a $12,000 to $20,000 SOC 2 readiness sprint. All prices are in USD; see the full ladder on the pricing page.
Can a vCISO work with a US company remotely?
Yes. Xorabyte is based in the Greater Toronto Area and works remotely with startups across Canada and the US. The engagement runs on video calls, shared documents, and whatever compliance platform or ticketing system your team already uses, so location does not change how the work gets done.
What is the difference between a vCISO and a fractional CISO?
Nothing in practice. Virtual CISO and fractional CISO describe the same arrangement: a senior security leader who owns your outcomes part-time, on a retainer, instead of as a full-time executive hire. Some buyers search "vCISO," others "fractional CISO"; Xorabyte delivers the same service either way.
How is a vCISO different from a full-time CISO?
A full-time CISO is a salaried executive hire, usually justified once a company has a large enough security surface or headcount to need one every day. A vCISO gives you the same seniority and accountability part-time, sized to a startup budget. See the side-by-side on vCISO vs full-time CISO for cost, scope, and accountability.
How quickly can a vCISO engagement start?
Most engagements start with a 30-minute scoping call, followed by a gap assessment that scores where you stand today and lays out a prioritized plan. From there you move to either a retainer or a fixed-scope sprint, depending on what triggered the need.
Do you replace our compliance platform?
No. A vCISO works inside the tools you already use, including a compliance platform such as Vanta or Drata if you have one. If you do not, we keep your controls, evidence, and deadlines tracked for you and walk you through status every month.
Put a security leader in your corner.
Tell us what triggered the need. You leave the first call with a clear path, not a sales pitch.