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RJ Russell is the Fintech Virtual CISO helping financial services clients with their cybersecurity program. Before RJ’s Fintech Virtual CISO career, he helped Charles River Development, a financial software company, with their SaaS clients for eight years. There, he oversaw L2 and L3 infrastructure operations for their global investment management system.
RJ has worked with a multitude of customers in the finance industry, including commercial banks, mutual funds, pension boards, private wealth and other institutional investment firms, who used the Charles River SaaS platform to manage their portfolios. RJ’s teams were responsible for engineering and operations of all Test, Production and Disaster Recovery systems — including networks & firewalls, virtualization, guest OS, databases, storage, identity management, and cybersecurity.
Having spent his entire career in operations from engineer to manager, RJ strongly appreciates the struggle with the reality of the operations side of security. He understands how hard it is to manage responsibilities, like keeping systems patched or getting firewall rules under control.
He empathizes with Fractional CISO clients because he’s been in their shoes.
RJ knows how the security culture operates within large finance organizations and can navigate the unavoidable internal politics. His experience with Fintech security and compliance goes a long way to help the companies we work with.
RJ’s LinkedIn profile is here.
Compared to other providers, our Fintech Virtual CISO services have four key differentiators that result in a high quality, cost effective solution:
What does a typical Fintech Virtual CISO engagement look like?
A typical engagement with Fractional CISO consists of the following:
While the services above will go a long way to improve your cybersecurity posture, some Fintech companies require help executing specific projects or providing customized services.
Customized services may include a corporate or product security strategy, or it might be a Vulnerability Management program or Incident program management.
A Fintech Virtual CISO can also help you throughout the entire security lifecycle of your SaaS offering and optimize the security of your infrastructure.
Need help telling your security story to close a deal? Do your prospects require you to follow a cybersecurity standard?
The Fintech industry is more regulated than many others, and we can help you navigate the many rules and regulations.
We’ll work with you on all types of go-to-market activities. We’ll even provide the security marketing content.
Finally, we can also:
At Fractional CISO, we specialize in tailoring cybersecurity strategies that meet the unique needs of the financial technology sector. To better understand how our experienced vCISOs can fortify your defenses and streamline compliance, we invite you to subscribe to our exclusive monthly newsletter. Designed specifically for business leaders, our newsletter offers insightful tips, industry trends, and a deeper look into our approach — delivered straight to your inbox, just once a month. No clutter, just value. Sign up today and take the first step towards robust cybersecurity management.
Ready to work with a FinTech Virtual CISO? Fill out the form to get in touch!
In Fintech, a CISO or Virtual CISO is responsible for steering the organization’s cybersecurity initiatives and overseeing the comprehensive cybersecurity strategy. This may include ICT risk management, compliance with financial regulations, security architecture, incident response protocols, regular security audits, risk assessments, security governance, overseeing security budgets, and resource management.
Cybersecurity is highly important for the success of fintech companies due to the sensitive nature of financial transactions and the vast amounts of confidential data processed within the industry. Robust cybersecurity measures safeguard against unauthorized access, data breaches, fraudulent activities, building trust with customers, and ensuring secure and compliant monetary transactions. Many B2B customers require that their fintech vendors meet certain cybersecurity regulations or compliance standards. Strong cybersecurity in fintech instills trust among users and partners, ensuring the integrity and confidentiality of financial information.
Fintech cybersecurity risks can cover a wide spectrum with the increasing digitization of financial services and how money is transmitted. Risks can include fraudulent transactions, data breaches, identity theft, ransomware attacks, phishing attempts, system vulnerabilities, extortion, denial of service attacks, credit card fraud, and more.
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Only 1/3 of cyber insurance policies actually pay out in incidents. Most companies have cyber insurance policies that insure too little, or too much, and have absurdly low caps and silly exclusions.
To learn more about cyber insurance and determine if you have the right coverage for you, join us for a free vCISO Office Hours session on Tuesday, April 18 at 1 p.m. eastern time. Bring your questions!
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