Your directors are responsible for cyber risk whether they understand it or not. A virtual CISO gives them the expertise, the language, and the confidence to govern it properly — at a fraction of the cost of an in-house appointment.
Cyber security sits in the boardroom whether your directors invited it or not. The ICO, insurers, investors, and clients are all asking the same question: who in your organisation owns this? If the honest answer is “nobody, really” — you need to read on.
A virtual CISO is not a technology solution. It is a governance solution. We give your board the expertise, the language, and the documented evidence to demonstrate that someone competent is in charge of information security — because increasingly, that’s what contracts, insurers, and regulators require proof of.
A Chief Information Security Officer is the person in an organisation who owns the security strategy — answers to the board, manages risk, owns the policies, and is accountable when something goes wrong. Most SMEs can’t justify — or afford — a full-time one. We deliver the same function as a service.
We’ll always tell you which option makes sense for your situation — and why. No upselling. No pressure.
A single session with your senior leadership team. We assess your current security posture, translate the findings into plain language, and give directors a clear picture of their exposure and responsibilities. Practical, honest, and done in a day.
ngoing virtual CISO engagement. We own your security strategy, attend board meetings, write and maintain your policies, manage your compliance calendar, and provide a named point of contact for any incident or audit. Director-level accountability, delivered as a service.
The ICO is clear: directors can be held personally liable for data breaches where the board failed to take reasonable steps. This session covers exactly what that means — what you are responsible for, what a regulator looks for, and how to demonstrate due diligence.
No long procurement process. No six-month onboarding. Most clients have a working engagement running within three weeks.
vCISO services only work if there’s genuine expertise behind them. Neil has spent his career in technical infrastructure and security — the kind of depth that comes from actually doing the work, not just advising on it.
Neil leads ACUTEC’s technical infrastructure and security practice. He’s the person who built our own security programme from the ground up — <strong>we’re pursuing ISO27001 certification internally</strong>, which means Neil has lived through the same process your organisation would face, not just advised clients through it.
His day-to-day covers everything from firewall configuration and network security to compliance frameworks and board-level risk conversations. When a client receives a letter from Severn Trent, the NHS, or a major contractor asking for security certification, Neil is the person who picks up the phone.
The infrastructure team he leads — Sam, Jack, Darren, Ricardo, and Harshim — are the people who keep client systems running day to day. The security work Neil does at the strategic level is grounded in that operational reality. He knows what actually breaks, not just what the frameworks say should break.
If you’re considering a vCISO engagement, the first conversation will be with Neil. No sales layer between you and the person delivering the service.
We’ll ask you about your business, your current situation, and what’s prompted the conversation. At the end, you’ll have a clear picture of whether a vCISO engagement makes sense — and if it doesn’t, we’ll tell you that too.
St Peters House · Church Hill · Coleshill · Birmingham · B46 3AL · hello@acutec.co.uk