Why Your Organisation Needs a CISO in Austria
The Austrian implementation of the NIS2 Directive in the Network and Information Systems Security Act (NISG) extends cybersecurity duties to a much larger number of essential and important entities: risk management measures, incident reporting and the accountability of management. Financial entities supervised by the FMA must also meet DORA. Many organisations need a security leader to steer this without hiring a full-time CISO.
With our outsourced CISO (virtual CISO, vCISO) service, an experienced information security leader takes on the CISO role for your organisation as a managed service — a few days per month, at a fraction of the cost of a full-time hire, and without recruitment or turnover risk.
What Your vCISO Takes Care Of
- Security strategy and roadmap — A clear information security strategy aligned with your business objectives, risk appetite and regulatory obligations
- Governance and policies — Security organisation, roles and responsibilities, and a complete set of information security policies
- Risk management — Identification, assessment and treatment of information security risks, including third-party and supply chain risks
- Regulatory compliance — Mapping the cybersecurity requirements that apply to you and keeping evidence ready for regulators, auditors and customers
- ISO 27001 certification — Leading the implementation of your Information Security Management System (ISMS) up to the certification audit
- Incident readiness — Incident response plan, reporting procedures within the legal deadlines and regular exercises
- Management reporting — Security metrics and risks translated into business language for management and the board
- Awareness — Security awareness training so that your employees recognise and report threats
Cybersecurity Requirements in Austria
Your vCISO keeps your security programme aligned with the frameworks that apply to your organisation:
- NIS2 / NISG — Risk management measures, incident reporting (early warning within 24 hours, notification within 72 hours) and personal accountability of management for essential and important entities
- DORA — The EU Digital Operational Resilience Act for financial entities, applicable since 17 January 2025: ICT risk management, incident reporting, resilience testing and ICT third-party risk
- Austrian Information Security Handbook — The national guideline for information security measures
- GDPR Article 32 — Appropriate technical and organisational measures to secure personal data
- ISO/IEC 27001 — The international standard for information security management systems
How Does It Work?
Assessment & Strategy
We assess your security posture against the applicable requirements and agree a prioritised security roadmap with you.
Implementation
Your vCISO leads the security programme: governance, policies, risk treatment and technical controls with your IT team and providers.
Ongoing Leadership
Regular risk reviews, incident handling, audit preparation and management reporting keep your programme up to date.
Why ResGuard?
- Experienced security leaders who have built and run ISMS programmes in regulated industries
- The ResGuard Compliance Manager platform for your ISMS, risks, policies, tasks and audit evidence
- Flexible scope — the number of days per month adapts to the phase of your programme
- Need a fast route to certification? Combine your vCISO with our ISMS workshop for ISO 27001