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Fractional CISO & Cybersecurity Leadership

Executive cyber leadership that aligns security, compliance, and AI to business outcomes.

Nexus Security Advisors is a cybersecurity leadership firm. We provide fractional and virtual chief information security officer (vCISO) services, a part-time senior security executive, compliance readiness, and AI governance for small and mid-sized businesses in every industry, including financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, defense suppliers, technology, and professional services. Get senior security leadership without the cost of a full-time CISO, and a plan your board can follow.

  • Fractional & virtual CISO
  • CMMC, HIPAA, SOC 2 & EU CRA readiness
  • AI governance & security
  • Board-ready risk reporting
  • U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)-certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB)
30 minFree discovery call to scope your needs
4Core services: vCISO, compliance, AI governance, assessments
6Free interactive readiness checklists
300+Curated free security resources
Services

Security leadership, built for your size and your regulators.

01

Fractional vCISO

Ongoing executive security leadership: program strategy, risk register, board and audit-committee reporting, budget planning, and incident readiness.

You get: a named security leader and a board-ready roadmap.

What’s included

  • A named security leader who owns your program and attends leadership and board meetings
  • Security strategy and a living risk register, reviewed and re-prioritized on a regular cadence
  • Policies and standards written for your size, not copied from an enterprise template
  • Oversight of your information technology (IT) team, managed service provider (MSP), and key vendors, including security questionnaire responses
  • Budget planning that ties every security dollar to a risk it reduces
  • Incident readiness: response plan, contacts, and executive tabletop exercises

How it works

A monthly engagement scaled to your needs, with a regular working cadence and the flexibility to add hours for audits, customer reviews, or incidents.

A good fit if

  • You need CISO-level judgment but not a full-time executive
  • Customers, insurers, or your board are asking who owns cyber risk
02

AI Governance & Security

Shadow AI discovery, AI risk built into each initiative's business case, agent identity and least privilege, and AI security testing mapped to leading industry standards.

You get: visibility and controls where AI actually runs.

What’s included

  • Shadow artificial intelligence (AI) discovery: which AI tools, copilots, and agents are in use and what data they touch
  • An AI inventory and an acceptable-use policy employees can actually follow
  • AI risk assessments built into each initiative’s business case before launch
  • Identity and least-privilege controls for AI agents and the systems they can reach
  • AI red-team testing, with findings mapped to the Open Worldwide Application Security Project (OWASP) Top 10 for large language model (LLM) Apps, OWASP AI Exchange, and MITRE Adversarial Threat Landscape for Artificial-Intelligence Systems (ATLAS)

Frameworks we align to

National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) AI Risk Management Framework (RMF), International Organization for Standardization and International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) 42001, and the European Union (EU) AI Act, scaled to how your business really uses AI.

03

Compliance Readiness

Plain-English readiness for defense-contractor (CMMC), healthcare (HIPAA), and customer audit (SOC 2) requirements, plus cyber-insurance questionnaires, with a prioritized, owner-assigned remediation plan.

You get: a gap list with owners and due dates.

Frameworks

  • Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) and NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-171 for defense suppliers
  • Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Rule and HIPAA 405(d) practices for healthcare
  • System and Organization Controls (SOC) 2 for software as a service (SaaS) and technology companies
  • Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and cyber-insurance requirements

How it works

  • Scope what applies to you and what your customers or regulators expect
  • Gap assessment against the framework, explained in plain English
  • A prioritized remediation plan with an owner and due date for every gap
  • Policies, procedures, and evidence organized so you are ready for your assessor or auditor

We prepare you for assessment; certifications and attestations are issued by independent third-party assessors and auditors.

04

Security Posture Assessment

A review based on the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) 2.0, with risks prioritized on our 5×5 likelihood-by-impact scale, delivered as an executive report and a 30/60/90-day roadmap.

You get: a clear baseline and what to fix first.

How it works

  • Kickoff and scoping with a fixed scope agreed up front
  • Interviews with leadership, IT, and key staff, plus a review of existing policies and documentation
  • Review of core controls: identity and multi-factor authentication (MFA), email, endpoints, backups, cloud, and vendor access
  • Every finding rated on our 5×5 likelihood-by-impact scale
  • Executive readout with your leadership team

What you receive

  • An executive report written for business leaders, not just IT
  • A prioritized 30/60/90-day roadmap of what to fix first
  • A NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) 2.0 baseline you can measure progress against
Who We Are

Led by an experienced CISO and U.S. Air Force veteran.

Nexus Security Advisors is an SBA-certified Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) founded by Dan Sorensen, a fractional vCISO and AI governance advisor with 22+ years of U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard service, an OWASP AI Exchange core team member, a Forbes Technology Council contributor, and a contributor to 12 Fast Company articles.

FAQ

Common questions

What is a fractional CISO (vCISO)?

A fractional or virtual CISO is a senior security executive who leads your security program part-time. You get CISO-level strategy, risk management, and board reporting without the cost of a full-time hire.

Who is a good fit for Nexus Security Advisors?

Small and mid-sized businesses in any industry, including financial services, healthcare, defense suppliers, manufacturing, technology, and professional services, that need executive security leadership, are facing an audit or assessment, or are rolling out AI and need it governed.

Can you help us prepare for CMMC?

Yes. We assess your current state against NIST SP 800-171 and CMMC requirements, identify gaps, and build a prioritized, owner-assigned plan to close them.

How do you approach AI governance?

We start by finding the AI tools and agents actually in use, then build AI risk into each initiative's business case, apply least privilege to AI agents, and align to frameworks such as NIST AI RMF, ISO/IEC 42001, the EU AI Act, and the OWASP AI Exchange.

Can we sign an NDA before sharing details?

Yes. We are happy to sign a mutual nondisclosure agreement (NDA) before any detailed discussion of your environment.

Do you replace our IT team or MSP?

No. We provide security leadership and oversight and work alongside your IT team or managed service provider, helping them prioritize and measure what matters.

How is a fractional CISO engagement priced?

Usually as a predictable monthly retainer sized to your needs, or a fixed fee for project work such as an assessment or readiness sprint. We recommend an option after the free discovery call.

How do we get started?

Complete the short intake on our Get Started page. Tell us your industry, size, and the challenge in front of you, and we'll tell you plainly whether we're a fit.

Let's Talk

Start with a free 30-minute discovery call.

Tell us your industry, size, and the security or compliance challenge in front of you. We'll tell you plainly whether we're a fit.