A Chief Information Security Officer or CISO, is a post you almost never find in an SME, even those at the top end of that sector.   This has contributed to the growth of what is known as fractional appointments i.e. appointments that are not full time with the incumbents often taking roles in more than one organisation, thus the term Fractional.

 Anyone taking any role in an SME management team will need to be pragmatic, practical and bring cost effectiveness to their discipline.  The CISO role is no different and is all about managing risk, enabling the business and ensuring trust in a very cost sensitive environment.

The CISO can play a crucial role in an SME by ensuring that the organisation’s information and data assets are secure. While the CISO role in a large corporation may be more siloed or focused on strategy, in an SME the CISO often wears multiple hats, balancing strategy, operations, and hands-on technical work.

Challenges Unique to SMEs

I’ve often talked about the challenges that SMEs face, focusing as I do on cyber security.  Let’s just have a quick recap looking at where the CISO fits in with these unique challenges.

• Limited budget and staff: This is the main reason why SMEs will not employ a full time CISO, they simply can’t afford it.  The other being that an SME probably doesn’t require a full-time resource anyway.  Because of this lack of resource the CISO may also act as a hands-on security engineer or IT lead, perhaps liaising with a contracted IT outsourcer.
• Lack of security culture: Many SMEs don’t prioritise security until after a breach.  The CISO will be able to raise awareness and provide advice and guidance before the fact.
• Rapid growth and change: Scaling securely is a key challenge as SMEs expand and there are often gaps left because of overlooking the need to embed security at the design stage.  The CISO can plug that gap.

Let’s take a look at the potential elements of a job description for the role of a CISO, or a Fractional CISO, in an SME.  Of course, these may not fit everyone and it’s more of a menu for SMEs to choose from:

1. Developing and Leading the Cybersecurity Strategy
2. Define the overall information security roadmap aligned with the SME’s business goals.
3. Balance security with business agility, in other words making sure security does not get in the way of business and keeping in mind budget constraints typical in SMEs.
4. Ensure the strategy addresses risk management, compliance, and data protection.

• Risk Management and Assessment
• Identify and assess cyber risks relevant to the SME (e.g., phishing, ransomware, insider threats).
• Conduct regular vulnerability assessments and penetration tests.
• Prioritise risks based on business impact and likelihood.

• Policy and Compliance Management
• Develop and enforce security policies, standards, and procedures.
• Ensure compliance with relevant regulations (e.g., GDPR, PCI-DSS etc depending on industry).
• Prepare for audits and provide documentation to demonstrate compliance.

• Security Awareness and Training
• Conduct regular security awareness training for employees.
• Create a culture of security by promoting best practices (e.g., strong passwords, phishing awareness).

• Incident Response and Business Continuity
• Develop and maintain an incident response plan.
• Lead the response to security breaches and minimise damage.
• Ensure business continuity and disaster recovery plans are in place and tested.

• Technology Oversight and Vendor Management
• Evaluate and implement cybersecurity tools (e.g., firewalls, endpoint protection etc).
• Manage relationships with third-party vendors, especially cloud providers and MSSPs.
• Ensure that vendors comply with the SME’s security requirements.
• Ensure the SME itself is not in conflict with any security requirements of larger organisations if it is in that organisations supply chain.

• Board and Executive Communication
• Translate technical risks into business language for senior management.
• Report regularly on security posture, incidents, and needs.
• Advocate for security budget and resources in line with organisational risk appetite.

I hope that gives a feel as to why an SME might want to consider a Fractional CISO or Board Advisor.  Cyber-attacks are becoming more sophisticated, faster and harder to repel.  It is no longer just the corporates who are in the firing line.  Modern, often AI driven attacks have put everyone in the sights of the modern cyber-criminal and even from those criminal organisations that are nation state funded.  It’s never been more crucial to have professional advice and guidance on tap.