Continuous
Monthly Retainer
Ongoing vCISO leadership for organisations that need a security officer every month. Minimum 3 months.
Request a quoteServices
Security leadership, from the boardroom to the firewall
CyHelm combines certified CISO-level leadership with 20+ years of hands-on infrastructure and security engineering. We set the strategy, prove the compliance and check the controls ourselves, so you get one accountable partner instead of three vendors.
Book a 30-minute discovery call Start with a fixed-fee assessment
CCISO
CISSP
CISM
CISA
CEH
Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Expert
Oracle Cloud Security Professional
01
Virtual CISO (vCISO)
Certified, accountable CISO-level leadership in your team, on a retainer sized to your organisation. CyHelm owns your security strategy, reports to your executives and board, and runs the security function, without the cost of a full-time hire.
Built for organisations of 50–1,000 employees that face real regulatory and cyber risk but don't yet need a full-time CISO. You get a named security officer who makes decisions and is answerable for them, not an advisor who only writes reports.
Essentials (2 days/month)
Growth (4 days/month)
Embedded (8+ days/month)
Minimum 3 months
Flagship
What's included
- Security strategy and a 12–36 month roadmap tied to business goals
- Risk register ownership with quarterly risk reviews
- Monthly executive reporting and quarterly board presentations
- Security policy and procedure ownership
- Security committee leadership and decision tracking
- Vendor selection, evaluation and contract oversight (MSSP, EDR, firewall, cloud)
- Third-party and supply-chain security oversight
- Incident response governance and escalation leadership
- Security awareness programme oversight
- Regulatory engagement support: UAE Cyber Security Council, TDRA, UAE Data Office (PDPL); Saudi NCA where applicable
- Audit and certification liaison (ISO 27001, PCI DSS assessors, client audits)
02
Security Assessments & Technical Reviews
Fixed-fee, fixed-scope reviews of the controls that actually stop attacks. Each one is led by a CCISO-certified security leader with hands-on firewall, cloud, identity and network engineering experience, so findings are practical, prioritised and tested against how your environment really runs.
Most reviews take 5–10 working days. You receive an executive summary, a technical findings report rated by risk, and a remediation plan your team or vendor can act on the following week.
Fixed Fee
5–10 Days
Remote or On-Site
Best starting point
What's included (choose one or combine)
- Firewall rule base review: permissive, shadowed, redundant and unused rules, object clean-up, hardening and optimisation plan (Palo Alto, Fortinet, Check Point, Cisco)
- Security architecture review: current state against zero trust and defence-in-depth, with a target-state design
- Microsoft 365 & Entra ID security assessment: conditional access, MFA coverage, legacy authentication, mail security, external sharing and Secure Score uplift
- Microsoft 365 Copilot readiness review: oversharing, permissions and sensitivity-label gaps fixed before AI can surface them
- Cloud security posture review: Azure and Oracle Cloud (OCI) identity, network, logging and configuration baseline
- Active Directory & privileged access review: privileged groups, attack paths, service accounts and PAM coverage
- EDR/XDR configuration review: policy strength, exclusions, coverage gaps and alert tuning
- SIEM detection coverage review: use cases mapped to MITRE ATT&CK, log-source gaps and alert-fatigue reduction
- Ransomware resilience assessment: backup immutability, recovery testing, segmentation and response readiness
03
ISO Certification Programmes
End-to-end programmes that take you from first gap analysis to a successful certification audit. CyHelm scopes the management system, builds the documentation, embeds the processes with your team and manages the certification body on your behalf.
Choose a standard 6–12 month programme, or a fast-track option of around 4 months for organisations facing a client or tender deadline (subject to scope, readiness and certification-body availability). Governance foundations such as the risk framework, risk appetite and security committee are built in from day one.
6–12 Month Programme
Fast-Track ~4 Months
Gap Assessment Only
Standards covered
- ISO/IEC 27001:2022: information security management
- ISO/IEC 42001: AI management systems
What's included
- Scope definition and stakeholder alignment
- Gap analysis against all clauses and the 93 Annex A controls (ISO 27001)
- Risk methodology, risk assessment, risk appetite and Statement of Applicability
- Full management system documentation suite (40+ policies, procedures and records)
- Business impact analysis and BCP/DR plans (ISO 22301)
- Security committee charter and executive KPIs
- Staff awareness and process owner training
- Management review facilitation
- Certification body selection, Stage 1 and Stage 2 audit preparation and liaison
- Independent internal audit, delivered separately from implementation to preserve impartiality
04
UAE & GCC Regulatory Compliance
Clear answers on what each regulator expects and how far you are from it. CyHelm maps your existing controls to the frameworks that apply to you, then delivers a prioritised remediation roadmap sized to your timeline and budget.
Especially valuable for healthcare providers, government suppliers, financial services firms and organisations entering the UAE market, or preparing for regulator, client or tender scrutiny.
Gap Assessment
Remediation Roadmap
Ongoing Compliance Support
Frameworks covered
- UAE Information Assurance (IA) Standards (formerly NESA), UAE Cyber Security Council
- ADHICS (Abu Dhabi healthcare) and DHA information security requirements (Dubai healthcare)
- Dubai ISR (Dubai Information Security Regulation)
- UAE PDPL and DIFC / ADGM data protection
- CBUAE requirements for licensed financial institutions
- PCI DSS advisory and assessor readiness
- NIST CSF 2.0, CIS Controls and SOC 2 readiness for UAE SaaS firms selling abroad
What's included
- Applicability assessment: which frameworks apply and why
- Control-by-control gap analysis with evidence review
- Prioritised remediation roadmap with effort and cost estimates
- Policy and procedure updates mapped to each framework
- Compliance evidence management and audit-ready evidence packs
- Pre-audit readiness review and regulator submission support
05
AI Governance & Secure AI Adoption
Your teams are already using AI. CyHelm helps you adopt it with confidence: clear rules for staff, controls that keep sensitive data out of the wrong models, and governance that satisfies auditors, clients and regulators.
For regulated organisations that can't send confidential data to public AI services, we design private and sovereign AI options that keep data inside your environment, guided by data classification from the start.
AI Readiness Assessment
Policy & Governance Pack
Retainer Add-on
New
What's included
- AI usage policy and acceptable-use guidelines for staff
- AI risk assessment aligned to ISO/IEC 42001 and the NIST AI Risk Management Framework
- Shadow AI discovery: which AI tools are in use and what data they touch
- Data classification rules for AI: what can and can't be shared with which tools
- Microsoft 365 Copilot and enterprise AI rollout readiness
- GenAI and LLM application risk review: prompt injection, data leakage, access control
- AI vendor and third-party AI risk assessment
- Private and sovereign AI architecture advisory for regulated data
- Board and executive briefing on AI risk and opportunity
06
CyHelm GRC Platform: Compliance-as-a-Service
Your compliance programme in one place, kept current by a certified security leader. The CyHelm GRC platform tracks your controls, risks and evidence across every framework you follow, so you are always audit-ready instead of scrambling before each audit.
Use it on its own, or pair it with CyHelm advisory for a monthly compliance service: we keep the platform up to date, chase evidence owners and report progress to leadership.
Platform Subscription
Platform + Monthly Advisory
Free Demo
What's included
- Framework library: ISO 27001, UAE IA, ADHICS, Dubai ISR, NIST CSF, PDPL and more
- Control mapping across frameworks: implement once, comply many times
- Risk register with treatment plans and owners
- Evidence collection, reminders and version history
- Policy library with approval and review workflows
- Audit-ready reports and executive compliance dashboards
- Hosting options that respect data residency and data classification requirements
Engagement models
Flexible ways to work together
Start small with a fixed-fee assessment, or bring CyHelm in as your security leader. Every engagement has a clear scope, named deliverables and a single point of accountability.
Defined scope
Fixed-Scope Project
Assessments, ISO certification, compliance gap analysis and policy documentation. Clear deliverables and timeline.
Request a quote4–8 hrs / month
Fractional Advisory
Board meeting support, risk reviews and strategic guidance. Ideal for smaller organisations.
Request a quoteHalf or full day
Workshop / Training
Executive security awareness, board briefings or team-specific training sessions.
Request a quoteNot sure where to start? Most clients begin with an assessment, and the findings shape what comes next.
FAQ
Common questions
What exactly is a virtual CISO?
A virtual CISO (vCISO) is a senior security leader who works with you part-time or on retainer. You get the same strategic leadership — security roadmap, board reporting, risk ownership, regulator engagement — as a full-time CISO, at a fraction of the cost.
Where should we start?
Most clients start with a fixed-fee assessment or technical review. It takes 5–10 working days, and the findings show whether you need a vCISO, a certification programme or a targeted fix.
How is CyHelm different from an MSSP or managed SOC?
An MSSP runs tools and watches alerts. CyHelm provides leadership: deciding what to protect, which controls and vendors to invest in, how to meet regulators, and how to report risk to the board. We can also help you select and manage your MSSP.
How quickly can you start?
The discovery call can happen this week. A posture assessment typically starts within 1–2 weeks of agreement, and embedded vCISO support begins as soon as the assessment is delivered.
Do you only work with UAE organisations?
Our home market is the UAE and wider GCC, with deep knowledge of the UAE IA Standards, ADHICS, Dubai ISR, TDRA and PDPL, and Saudi NCA where applicable. We also support international organisations entering the region and remote engagements aligned to ISO 27001 and NIST.
Will you work with our existing IT team or provider?
Yes. CyHelm sits above day-to-day operations, setting direction and holding teams and vendors accountable. We strengthen your existing people rather than replacing them.
How long does ISO 27001 certification take?
Typically 6–12 months depending on scope and maturity. A fast-track programme of around 4 months is available when a client or tender deadline requires it, subject to scope, readiness and certification-body availability.
Get started
Not sure where your biggest risk is?
In a 30-minute discovery call, we'll talk through your environment, your regulatory obligations and your next audit or deadline, and suggest the one engagement that would make the most difference. No obligation, no sales script.