Managed Security › V-CISO
V-CISO — Senior security leadership, without a full-time executive hire
SIRI Security's Virtual CISO service provides senior, strategic security leadership on a fractional basis — board reporting, programme direction, and vendor oversight, without the cost of a full-time CISO hire.
24/7Monitoring coverage
62%Of cloud detections
70%Of malware detections
Why managed security is now a named requirement
Live tracking · scroll to see every relevant change
Effective
31 JUL 2026
RBI's 2026 Framework specifically requires a 24×7 Cyber Security Operations Centre for commercial banks — the core capability managed security services are built to deliver.
Growing gap
62% CLOUD
Cloud misconfiguration and IAM exploitation account for 62% of detections in cloud environments (DSCI) — monitoring scope has to extend beyond on-premises infrastructure.
Baseline
6 HR WINDOW
CERT-In's notification requirement depends on actually detecting an incident promptly — managed monitoring is the precondition for meeting the deadline.
Baseline
70% MALWARE
Trojans and file infectors make up 70% of malware detections (Seqrite 2026) — the entry point managed detection is tuned around.
Extending
12–18 MO
RBI's historical pattern of extending bank requirements to NBFCs — managed security expectations are likely on this same trajectory.
Round-the-clock coverage without building an in-house SOC
What does a Virtual CISO do?
A Virtual (fractional) CISO provides the strategic leadership function a security programme needs — setting direction, reporting to the board, managing budget and vendor relationships, and making the trade-off decisions a security programme inevitably requires — without the cost, and often the availability challenge, of hiring a full-time executive.
This works especially well for organisations between roughly 50 and 500 employees: too large to run security informally, not yet at the scale that justifies a full-time C-level security executive.
24/7 coverage is now a named regulatory expectation, not a nice-to-have
RBI's 2026 Framework names a 24×7 Cyber Security Operations Centre directly — an organisation without dedicated round-the-clock coverage doesn't meet this bar, regardless of how strong its preventive controls are.
SIRI Security delivers V-CISO to this standard directly — practitioner-led, documented, and connected to SIRI Law LLP's legal and regulatory response if a finding ever needs to go further.
What organisations get wrong
Four assumptions that leave organisations effectively unmonitored
Most coverage gaps aren't about missing tools — they're about how monitoring is actually staffed and operated.
01 — STAFFING
“We'll build an in-house SOC eventually”
A genuinely 24/7 in-house SOC requires a headcount most organisations can't justify before they actually need managed coverage instead.
02 — GOVERNANCE
“We don't need a CISO-level function yet”
Security decisions without CISO-level ownership tend to drift — a virtual CISO gives that function without a full-time executive hire.
03 — SCOPE
“Our internal team covers incident response too”
Detection and response are different disciplines under real time pressure — most internal teams aren't staffed for both simultaneously.
04 — VISIBILITY
“We'd notice if something serious happened”
Without dedicated surveillance, the gap between compromise and detection is exactly what most breaches exploit.
What V-CISO covers
What's included, start to finish
Coverage and capability delivered as a managed service, escalating directly into response when something real is found.
01
Security strategy & roadmap ownership
Setting and owning the direction of your security programme.
02
Board & leadership reporting
Regular, credible reporting to your board or leadership team.
03
Vendor & budget management
Oversight of your security vendor relationships and budget allocation.
04
Incident escalation leadership
Serving as the senior decision-maker during a significant security incident.
05
Team mentorship
Guiding and developing your existing security or IT staff, not replacing them.
Evidence, not guesswork
No managed security vs. in-house effort vs. SIRI managed security
Building 24/7 in-house is a genuinely different undertaking than operating one effectively.
| Approach | No managed security | In-house, self-staffed | SIRI V-CISO |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coverage hours | Ad hoc / business hours | Depends on internal staffing | 24/7 |
| CISO-level ownership | None | Often absent | Available as vCISO |
| Direct escalation into response | No defined path | Depends on internal process | Pre-agreed, tested |
| Satisfies RBI's CSOC requirement | No | Partially, if resourced | Yes |
| Cost vs. building in-house | N/A | High fixed cost | Scoped to actual need |
Sources: RBI (Commercial Banks — Cybersecurity, Technology: Risk, Resilience and Assurance Framework) Directions, 2026, effective 31 July 2026; DSCI cloud detection data. Summarised for comparison; confirm current CSOC requirements applicable to your entity category.
Numbers every board should know
What managed security is actually catching
24/7
Monitoring coverage
Continuous, not business-hours-only or periodic review.
62%
Of cloud detections
Trace to misconfiguration and IAM exploitation (DSCI).
70%
Of malware detections
Are trojans and file infectors (Seqrite 2026).
29.44L
Incidents CERT-In handled
In the latest reporting year — the scale managed monitoring exists to catch a share of.
Why SIRI for V-CISO specifically
Managed detection connected directly to response, not a separate vendor relationship
The team monitoring your environment is the same team that responds when something real is found.
01
Directed by SIRI's Head of Cybersecurity
Vikram Rao, SIRI's Head of Cybersecurity, directs offensive security and incident response and leads CERT-In breach containment for enterprise clients.
02
Findings connected directly to legal exposure
SIRI Security runs under the same roof as SIRI Law LLP — when a finding carries real legal exposure, the engagement can be brought under attorney-client privilege from day one, not bolted on after the fact.
03
Built for RBI's specific 24×7 CSOC requirement
Deployed and operated to meet the 24×7 CSOC standard the 2026 Framework names directly for regulated banks and NBFCs.
04
Financial-sector coverage built in
Deepa Menon, Senior Associate, advises banks, NBFCs, and payment aggregators directly on RBI licensing, SEBI CSCRF, and financial-sector cyber resilience.
Who this is built for
Organisations this managed security service is built for
Banks & NBFCs
SEBI-regulated intermediaries
SaaS & cloud-native companies
Organisations without in-house 24/7 capability
Enterprises needing vCISO-level oversight
How we work
From scoping to ongoing delivery
01
Onboarding & Baseline
We onboard your environment, establish a baseline, and integrate with your existing tooling before going live.
Week 102
Live Operations
The service runs continuously from our operations centre, with clear escalation paths back to your team.
Weeks 2–303
Monthly Reporting & Review
You get regular, readable reporting on what happened and what it means — not a raw log dump.
Week 4+04
Continuous Tuning
We tune detection and response continuously as your environment and the threat landscape change.
OngoingFrequently asked
V-CISO, answered directly
How many hours per week is this typically?
This is scoped to your organisation's needs, commonly ranging from a few hours a week to a few days a month — we'll propose a realistic commitment during scoping.
Can this transition to a full-time hire later?
Yes — many clients use this as a bridge, and we support a clean handoff once you're ready to hire full-time.
How long does onboarding take?
Most MSSP-category services onboard within 2 to 4 weeks depending on the complexity of your existing environment and tooling.
What are your response SLAs?
SLAs are agreed per engagement based on severity — critical alerts are typically acknowledged within minutes, not hours; we'll confirm specifics during scoping.
Get coverage without building an in-house SOC
Scope V-CISO.
Most engagements start with a coverage assessment before scoping the managed service.
Talk to SIRI Security: +91 79819 12046
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