vCISO and DPO retainer · checked July 2026
A named security lead, without the headcount.
Senior security leadership plus Data Protection Officer duty, on retainer, for after the mark, so it never lapses. One named consultant, accountable on every report, reachable on the day something goes wrong.
A named security lead on retainer: S$36,000 a year. That's the whole sentence.
Ongoing senior security leadership (governance, risk, incident-response planning) without the cost of a full-time Chief Information Security Officer.
Full-time security boss damn ex. So we be yours: part-time, but 2am you call, we still pick up. Something break, we settle. That simple.
What the retainer covers.
Five things, running quietly in the background all year, so the mark stays current and the duty stays covered.
- Quarterly control reviews
- The controls checked four times a year, and the evidence pack kept current in between, not rebuilt from scratch when the next audit is announced.
- Surveillance-audit support
- When the certification body returns for its scheduled visit, we prepare the evidence and sit beside you for it, the way we did the first time.
- DPO duty under the PDPA
- The appointed Data Protection Officer named to PDPC, the data-breach register kept, and data-subject requests answered inside the statutory clock.
- An incident line, answered by a named consultant
- One number, one person who already knows your business, for the call nobody wants to make.
- Renewal, diarised and prepared
- The mark’s renewal date is in our calendar before it is in yours, and the evidence is ready before the deadline is close.
Who it is for.
- Organisations holding a mark that must not lapse, because a tender or a customer contract depends on it.
- Companies whose tender asked for a named security officer, not just a certificate on file.
- Teams that need senior security judgement on call, without carrying a full-time hire on the payroll.
The money, counted out.
One fee, said once. The retainer sits outside the certification grants, because it is ongoing leadership, not a one-off readiness project.
- The retainer: S$36,000 a year. Billed annually, covering the named lead, the quarterly reviews, the DPO duty and the incident line.
- Sits outside the certification co-funding. CSA's CISOaaS grant applies to readiness work toward a mark; the retainer is the ongoing leadership that keeps the mark current afterwards, so it is not part of that co-funded scope.
Plain answers
Is this a full-time CISO?
No. It is senior security leadership and PDPA duty on retainer: named, reachable, and accountable, without the cost or the headcount of a full-time hire. Most SMEs need judgement on call, not a desk five days a week.
Does the retainer include the DPO appointment?
Yes. The named consultant is appointed as your Data Protection Officer under the PDPA, keeps the breach register, and handles data-subject requests inside the statutory timeline.
Can we start the retainer before we hold a mark?
Yes. Some clients start here, building the governance and the evidence habits first, then sit the certification once the basics are in place. Most start it the month their mark is issued, so it never lapses.
What happens at renewal?
Nothing you have to remember. The renewal date is diarised from day one, the evidence pack stays current across the year, and the surveillance audit or renewal assessment is prepared for well before it is due.
Meet your named lead first.
A 30-minute chat, no obligation, and a straight answer on whether a retainer is what you actually need yet.