Own the program.
Answer for it.
The market calls this a fractional CISO or a virtual CISO (vCISO). Core3 calls it a Cyber Operating Partner, because the difference is not seniority or hours. It is what the engagement is accountable for. Plenty of firms will give you good advice. Almost none are still there when the board asks whether it worked.
Leading a program and answering for it are different jobs.
Core3 does both. We direct the teams and vendors that already exist, build what is missing, and report every quarter on what we committed, what we delivered, and what needs a decision. When something slips, the report says so, and says why. Every engagement ends in a decision with a documented basis, not a slide deck nobody signs.
If you already know the program needs a single owner, the engagement opens with the Read and moves straight into running it. If you first need to know where it stands, start with the Read on its own.
Structured as a
vCISO engagement.
The program runs as a virtual CISO (vCISO) engagement, in three tiers by depth of ownership. Advisor: Core3 sets the plan and reports against it, and your team runs it. Operator: Core3 runs the program for you. Partner: Core3 becomes your named CISO of record. Moving up a tier transfers accountability, not hours.
See the vCISO model & tiersWhat Core3 can
run for you.
No two programs include the same things. This is the full range Core3 runs and stands behind. Your engagement is scoped to what your organization actually needs, at the tier of ownership you choose, so you invest in the services that move your risk, not a catalog you will not use.
vCISO / Fractional CISO Leadership
Senior security leadership running the program day to day and representing it to your board, auditors, insurers, and customers.
Program Design & Operating Model
Strategy, workstreams, a 12-month roadmap, and the governance cadence that keeps it moving.
Policy & Program Documentation
The written information security program (WISP) and supporting policies, maintained rather than filed once.
Governance, Risk & Compliance
Compliance program management for SOC 2 and ISO 27001 first, with HIPAA, PCI, and others where your customers require them. One set of evidence, mapped to every framework you carry. Solve once, prove many.
CMMC Readiness
Level 1 and Level 2 readiness for defense contractors, across your own environment or alongside a secure enclave.
Third-Party Risk Management
Vendor relationship governance: who you rely on, what they can reach, and how that risk is assessed and monitored over time.
Incident Response Program
Plan, playbooks, roles, team structure, and crisis communications, so a bad day runs on muscle memory instead of improvisation.
Tabletop Exercises
Readiness rehearsed end to end (ransomware, wire fraud, operational shutdown), with an after-action report that becomes evidence.
Business Continuity & DR
Business continuity and disaster recovery planning, with the reviews that keep it current.
Evidence Synthesis & Reporting
Assessments, scans, tool exports, and questionnaires turned into one picture and one sequence of work. Then reported to the board, the CIO, and the team in the form each can act on.
AI Governance
Policies, vendor risk, and oversight for the AI already moving through the business.
Data Governance
Data mapping, classification, and lifecycle, so you know what you hold and what it would cost to lose.
A program includes the services it needs, not the entire list. Scope is set together. Pricing is fixed for each tier and shared on request.
The technical work,
under one owner.
When the program calls for hands-on technical work, Core3 brings the people and stays accountable for the result. One owner for the whole capability, instead of a stack of disconnected vendors you coordinate yourself.
Penetration Testing & Adversary Emulation
Real-world testing of whether your defenses actually hold, not a checklist scan.
Vulnerability & Attack Surface Management
Continuous discovery of what is exposed, and what to fix first.
EDR / MDR & Threat Monitoring
Managed detection and response across endpoints, with monitoring that runs around the clock.
Identity & Access Hardening
Multi-factor, privileged access, and identity controls tightened where attackers actually get in.
Email & Data Protection
Microsoft Purview, DLP, and email security configured to protect what matters.
Firewall & Network Hardening
Network and perimeter controls reviewed and tightened to a defensible baseline.
Dark Web Monitoring
Early warning when your credentials or data surface where they should not.
Security Awareness Training
The human layer trained and tested, because most incidents start with a person.
A defense contractor
facing CMMC?
Readiness for Level 1 and Level 2, across your own environment or alongside a secure enclave.
See CMMC readinessManaging risk across
many companies?
For private equity firms, holding companies, and any group carrying cyber risk across a portfolio, Core3 runs one model across every company and one operating view for the sponsor.
See the portfolio viewGive the program
a single owner.
Start with the program you have. The dollar view is there from the first report if you want it, and not required if you do not. From there, you choose how much Core3 owns, from advisor to CISO of record.