Frequently Asked Questions

General Information

CampusCISO provides affordable cybersecurity advisory services tailored specifically for higher education institutions. We offer a suite of online tools and virtual advisory services to help colleges and universities assess their cybersecurity posture and plan long-term strategies.

Our services are primarily designed for CIOs and CISOs of higher education institutions. However, any higher education leader tasked with cybersecurity strategy and planning can benefit from our offerings, including those new to their roles through our specialized programs like the 8-Week New Leader Boot Camp.

Services and Membership Levels

  1. Virtual Advisory Services: Affordable, tailored advice for strengthening your institution’s cybersecurity strategy.
  2. Online Planning Tools: Including CYBER HEAT MAP for benchmarking and planning.
  3. CampusCISO Compass Office Hours: Access to a community of peers for regular advisory sessions.

CYBER HEAT MAP is an online planning tool that allows higher education institutions to benchmark their cybersecurity posture against peers and plan improvements. It’s included in all CampusCISO memberships.

  • CampusCISO Compass: Includes the 8-Week Jump Start program and access to weekly office hours for additional follow-up and support. Also includes a one-year CYBER HEAT MAP Advanced subscription.
  • CampusCISO Pathfinder: Includes everything in Compass, plus one hour per month of individual support.
  • CampusCISO Navigator: Includes up to 5 hours per month of one-on-one support and the option for individual support during the initial assessment instead of participating in a group 8-week cohort.
  • 8-Week New Leader Boot Camp: A specialized program designed for new cybersecurity leaders to quickly get up to speed and effectively lead their institution’s cybersecurity efforts.

Payment Options

Our services are priced to be affordable for institutions of all sizes. We have various membership levels to fit different needs and budgets, ensuring that you can enhance your cybersecurity posture without breaking the bank.

Yes, we offer flexible payment options, including both purchase orders or online payment via credit card or EFT.

Value and Utilization

Our team offers strategic advice tailored to your institution’s needs, regular peer advisory sessions, and access to robust online tools. Our focus is on providing actionable insights and plans that you can implement effectively.

With nearly 30 years of experience in higher education cybersecurity leadership, Chris Schreiber, the founder of CampusCISO, ensures that our services are informed by real-world expertise and best practices. Our tools are constantly updated based on feedback from numerous assessments and a vast directory of vendor solutions used by other institutions.

The first step is to book a free consultation. During this consultation, we will understand your needs and prepare a custom quote tailored to your institution. 

New members start by joining our 8-Week Jump Start program to complete an initial assessment. Following this, you’ll continue to have access to online planning tools and ongoing support via chat, email, and CampusCISO Compass Office Hours. 

We offer a limited number of spots each month for institutions to join the 8-Week Jump Start program.

Data Management and Security

When an institution creates an account, the account manager has full control over their assessment details. The institution owns their assessment details, while CampusCISO owns the benchmarking data derived from the assessments. As part of our service, we aggregate anonymized assessment information to create benchmarking data that benefits the entire member community.

When we aggregate the benchmarking data, we identify the contributing institution based on a combination of three values: public vs. private institution, 2-year or 4-year institution, and the number of students using the five size buckets assigned in the US Department of Education IPEDS database.

Absolutely not! Your assessment details belong to your institution and are only shared with those you invite to collaborate with you.

When individual users complete a Skills Assessment as part of the CYBER HEAT MAP assessment, the skills inventory data is associated with that individual user. Each user has full control to add or remove their assessment answers.

If a user is deleted from the system, we permanently delete all their associated skills inventory answers. We do not incorporate individual skills inventory answers in the benchmarking dataset.

Philosophy and Collaboration

CampusCISO believes in a pragmatic approach to cybersecurity. We understand that every institution has unique needs and constraints. Our advisory services help you make informed decisions about how and where to invest your limited resources in new tools and services.

Yes, our advisory services can complement a vCISO or consultant. If you hire a vCISO who has little experience in higher education, our team can help them navigate the cultural differences, ensuring all aspects of your cybersecurity strategy are effectively addressed.

Our advisory services provide guidance and advice to evaluate and plan your strategy. We work alongside you, offering valuable perspective and helping navigate unique challenges. Unlike a vCISO or consultant who may assume operational responsibilities or manage specific projects, we focus on providing you with the right guidance and advice.

CampusCISO Success Guarantee

If you actively participate in our 8-Week Jump Start program, we guarantee you’ll complete a thorough cybersecurity assessment, identify critical gaps, and craft a strategic improvement plan. If these outcomes are not met, you may request a full refund.

Additional Information

Book a free consultation to better understand our services and see if there’s a mutual fit. 

We’ll prepare a custom proposal based on your needs, and once you’ve joined, we’ll start you in our next 8-Week Jump Start cohort, typically beginning the first full week of each calendar month. 

After completing the program, you’ll continue to have access to our tools and ongoing support.

More detailed information is available on our website, including our blog, case studies, and testimonials from other higher education leaders.

Have a question we didn't address?

If you have questions about how CampusCISO might be able to help you at your institution, the best option is to setup a call so we can explore your needs further.

You can setup a free consultation using the link below.

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