The cyber security industry is constantly facing new and evolving threats, and businesses are struggling to keep up. As a result, the global cost of cybercrime is increasing exponentially and is expected to reach $10.5 trillion USD annually by 2025.

This is a simple staggering sum, especially when you consider that this will make cybercrime vastly more profitable than the entire global trade of all illegal drugs combined.

Unfortunately, SMEs are well and truly in the firing line for many cyberattacks, since their smaller size leaves them without the same security budget as enterprise-level businesses. For instance, forking out over $200k per year for a full-time CISO is not viable for most small businesses, whereas for the world’s largest companies, this is a drop in the ocean.

The rise of the vCISO

In order to help SMEs close this security gap and minimize the risk of a data breach, a new role has emerged – the Virtual CISO, or vCISO. Essentially, a vCISO is an external consultant who provides expert guidance on all things cybersecurity, without the need for a full-time salary. This makes vCISOs an extremely attractive proposition for small businesses who want to improve their cybersecurity posture, but don’t want to break the bank.

By the end of 2022, it’s estimated that around 20% of SMEs will solicit the services of a vCISO, up from just 1% a year earlier. However, with such high demand, vCISOs are finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with the demand from their clients. Fortunately, an innovative new tech start-up called Cynomi is on hand to help with its cutting-edge Automated vCISO platform.

Cynomi’s Automated vCISO Platform

Cynomi is an Israeli-based start-up that has developed an AI-powered platform that empowers vCISOs to scale their services without compromising on quality or results, offering a lifeline to the SMEs that depend on them.

“SMBs and mid-market companies are at risk,” said CEO David Primor. “I realized after helping several companies that experienced cyber attacks that there was a big gap between organizations that have a CISO – and SMBs and SMEs that only have security tools, but no strategic management of their cybersecurity: including conducting periodic assessments, building a cybersecurity plan with action items and remediation tasks, build the right processes within the organization.”

“Tools alone are not enough, and attackers take advantage of that. This is why more and more SMBs and SMEs are turning to managed service providers and professional services firms for vCISO services,” he added.

The Cynomi platform is the first of its kind and is modeled based on the expertise of some of the world’s best CISOs. The platform automates many of the tasks that a vCISO would typically perform manually. Of course, this is one of the key bottlenecks preventing vCISOs from being able to service more clients.

By automating the work of the vCISO, Cynomi’s platform enables service providers to dramatically reduce their costs, while also increasing their efficiency and effectiveness. In addition, the platform also offers a range of unique features that are designed to help vCISOs deliver more comprehensive and effective cyber security strategies to their clients.

Cynomi platform capabilities

Whether it’s a managed service provider (MSP), consulting firm, or independent vCISO, Cynomi’s platform is jam-packed with features and capabilities that will help them deliver better results for their clients. Let’s take a look at some of the ways vCISOs can leverage Cynomi’s AI platform:

Assessment

The initial onboarding process is crucial for any vCISO, as it’s during this stage that they will gain an understanding of their client’s business, and their specific cybersecurity needs. Cynomi’s platform automates this process, by conducting a comprehensive assessment of the client’s business, their IT infrastructure, and their current cybersecurity posture. After an initial discovery questionnaire, automatically builds each client’s cyber profile, saving the vCISO valuable time and resources.

Planning

Cynomi helps vCISOs create tailored security policies for their clients, based on their specific business needs. These AI-generated policies are easy-to-follow, actionable, and take all of the relevant regulatory requirements and industry benchmarks into account.

Remediation

Once risks have been identified, Cynomi’s platform provides vCISOs with a prioritized list of remediation tasks, along with recommended solutions. This takes the manual work out of the equation for vCISOs and helps them to focus on more strategic tasks. Examples of remediation tasks include technical controls and procedures and the configuration of security tools.

Measurement and monitoring

Within the Cynomi dashboard, vCISOs can track their client’s progress over time, and measure the effectiveness of their cybersecurity strategy. This data-driven approach enables vCISOs to identify areas of improvement and make necessary adjustments to their strategy as they go.

The platform illuminates the vulnerabilities within each client’s environment and provides recommendations on how to mitigate them. These vulnerabilities are ranked and given a “risk score,” so that vCISOs can prioritize which ones to address first.

Reporting

Cynomi also covers the admin side of things, by generating detailed reports for each client when required. These customer-facing reports may be branded with the vCISO’s logo and can be easily exported and delivered to key stakeholders. Examples of items that may be included in a Cynomi report are an overview of the client’s current security posture, improvement trends, compliance gaps, and details of any incidents that have been detected and remediated.

An all-in-one solution

Along with automating many of the tasks that a vCISO would typically perform manually, Cynomi’s platform offers service providers complete visibility into their client’s cybersecurity posture, compliance status, and risk level. Armed with this data, they can make more informed decisions, focus on execution, and deliver real value to their clients at scale.