OREANDA-NEWS. BT today announced the launch of virtual Chief Security Officer (vCSO), a new managed service that provides the full development, management and operation of an enterprise information security team. vCSO is designed to help security executives address the growing challenge of managing a world-class security function.

Information security is no longer a supporting role within IT organizations. Security threats and risks are at an all-time high, with more cyberattacks each day and the growth of mobility, social media, cloud computing and big data in enterprises adding additional complexity to the enterprise.

With vCSO from BT Advise Assure, an organization can take advantage of a full service that covers all the duties of a Chief Security Officer (CSO) at a much lower cost, enabling them to better balance security demands with strategic business needs.

“With the pace of change in business and technology advances today, it’s never been harder to protect your business. However, for most businesses, IT resources are already constrained and there may be no budget to hire a dedicated security professional,” said Bas Burger, president of US & Canada at BT Global Services. “While many companies are looking at how to build this role into their future organizations, BT has already been thinking about how to solve this problem. With our vCSO service, companies can get the expert, board-level resources they need to drive security, compliance and governance programs without a costly staffing investment.”

The vCSO service is a flexible delivery model that can be tailored to fit the unique needs of each company. The service is available on both a project basis for specific security initiatives, including emergency scenarios, as well as an on-going retainer for more long-term support. At the start of each vCSO engagement, BT will conduct a full review of the company’s security systems to identify the current infrastructure and areas for improvement. Specific areas where a vCSO can help include:
• Development, implementation and updates of global security policies, standards, guidelines and procedures.
• Reviewing current IT risk assessment processes and conducting Rapid Risk Assessments (RRA) to determine vulnerabilities in the business.
• Designing an information security program roadmap to support specific business requirements.
• Managing and directing the team of security professionals and vendors that maintain the IT infrastructure, including network connectivity, Internet presence, applications and servers, clients, networked devices, wireless, telephony, e-business, IDS, anti-virus, authentication, authorization and firewalls.
• Leading internal management teams across different business functions, internal security councils and governance forums.
• Acting as a consultant and liaison to other IT groups on security matters.

The vCSO service makes it possible for companies to put BT’s 25 years of experience managing information security programs to work for their business. vCSO brings world-class security expertise and industry professionals from BT Advise Assure into an company’s organization, making sure its IT investments are in line with its business goals, regulatory challenges and overall business strategies.