Virtual Cybersecurity Department

The virtual cybersecurity departmentfor startups.

Your strategy, compliance, monitoring, and incident response — under one flat retainer. Built and run by people who've done this inside startups and inside enterprises.

Schedule a Call Or Get in Touch
90
Days to Audit-Ready
24/7
Monitoring Coverage
4hr
Security Incident Response
48hr
Customer Questionnaire Response
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WHAT A SECURITY DEPARTMENT ACTUALLY DOES

A cybersecurity department isn't one thing. It's seven.

Most security vendors sell one of these. Founders are left to assemble the rest.

01
Strategy & Governance

Security strategy, policies, risk management, board and investor reporting.

02
Engineering Security

Application security, infrastructure security, secure architecture, working alongside developers.

03
Operations

24/7 monitoring, endpoint protection, incident response, threat detection.

04
Compliance

SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI-DSS. Audit management. Evidence collection. Auditor liaison.

05
Business Interface

Customer security questionnaires. RFP and contract review. Customer security calls. Sales enablement.

06
Resilience

Business continuity, disaster recovery, tabletop exercises, incident response playbooks.

07
External Intelligence

Cyber threat intelligence, regulatory monitoring, vendor and third-party risk.

Building all seven in-house takes years and millions.

TWO WAYS TO ENGAGE US

The earlier you engage us, the less it costs — and the better your security posture will be.

BUILD

For startups months or quarters away from their first enterprise customer.

Focus is on doing it right the first time.

  • Security architecture & secure development practices
  • Endpoint security from day one
  • Baseline policies & processes
  • Compliance-by-design
  • Working alongside engineering

Lighter engagement. Cheaper, because operations haven't started yet.

PRO

For startups at or near GTM — with a customer asking questions, an audit on the calendar, or enterprise deals on the table.

Focus is on activation: everything turns on.

  • All seven functions live
  • Audit-ready in 90 days
  • 24/7 monitoring goes live
  • Questionnaires answered, auditors managed, customer security calls handled

The full department. From $12,000/month, scope-dependent.

Most startups engage us at Pro. The smart ones engage us at Build.

HOW WE COMPARE

What you'd otherwise be doing.

Most startups face two real alternatives. Here's how each compares.

Hiring In-House
BlackKatla
DIY Stack
What It Is
One senior security hire, plus tools and team you build out
A complete cybersecurity department on retainer
Vanta + fractional CISO + managed SOC + EDR + CSPM, stitched together
Annual Cost
$500K–$750K+ for a real function
$144K+ (from $12K/month, scope-dependent)
$170K–$400K depending on choices
Time to Audit-Ready
6–12 months from hire date
90 days from kickoff
6–12 months coordinating vendors
Vendors to Manage
One team to recruit, manage, and retain
One team. Us.
4–5 vendors, your CTO coordinates
Developer Time
Some pull-in for audit walkthroughs and technical evidence — your hire takes the rest
Some pull-in for technical walkthroughs — we handle questionnaires, auditor management, customer security calls
Still significantly pulled. The tools don't answer questionnaires; the fractional CISO doesn't have the bandwidth.
Accountability
Sits with your hire — until they leave
One team owns the outcome
Diffused. Each vendor blames the next.
Coverage
All seven functions, business hours. 24/7 means hiring 4+ more people.
All seven functions. 24/7 monitoring included.
Whatever your stack covers. 24/7 means adding another vendor on top.
Hidden Costs
Recruiting, equity, churn, ramp time
None. The price is the price.
Your CTO's time managing five vendors
BlackKatla
What It IsA complete cybersecurity department on retainer
Annual Cost$144K+ (from $12K/month, scope-dependent)
Time to Audit-Ready90 days from kickoff
Vendors to ManageOne team. Us.
Developer TimeSome pull-in for technical walkthroughs — we handle questionnaires, auditor management, customer security calls
AccountabilityOne team owns the outcome
CoverageAll seven functions. 24/7 monitoring included.
Hidden CostsNone. The price is the price.
Hiring In-House
What It IsOne senior security hire, plus tools and team you build out
Annual Cost$500K–$750K+ for a real function
Time to Audit-Ready6–12 months from hire date
Vendors to ManageOne team to recruit, manage, and retain
Developer TimeSome pull-in for audit walkthroughs and technical evidence — your hire takes the rest
AccountabilitySits with your hire — until they leave
CoverageAll seven functions, business hours. 24/7 means hiring 4+ more people.
Hidden CostsRecruiting, equity, churn, ramp time
DIY Stack
What It IsVanta + fractional CISO + managed SOC + EDR + CSPM, stitched together
Annual Cost$170K–$400K depending on choices
Time to Audit-Ready6–12 months coordinating vendors
Vendors to Manage4–5 vendors, your CTO coordinates
Developer TimeStill significantly pulled. The tools don't answer questionnaires; the fractional CISO doesn't have the bandwidth.
AccountabilityDiffused. Each vendor blames the next.
CoverageWhatever your stack covers. 24/7 means adding another vendor on top.
Hidden CostsYour CTO's time managing five vendors

The cheapest answer on paper is rarely the cheapest answer in practice.

THE 90-DAY COMMITMENT

Audit-ready in 90 days. From kickoff.

A typical Pro engagement runs in four phases over twelve weeks. By day 90, you're ready for an audit, a customer security review, or a Series B due diligence. At day 91, 24/7 monitoring goes live and the department runs.

01
Discovery & Gap Assessment
Weeks 1–4

We learn your environment and name exactly what's missing.

02
Policies & Governance
Weeks 5–6

The governance backbone, written to match the controls we've defined.

03
Tooling & Evidence
Weeks 7–10

Endpoint agents, cloud baselines, identities secured. Evidence collection running.

04
Stress Test & Readiness
Weeks 11–12

Tabletop exercise. Audit-readiness review. Day 90: you're ready.

Day 91: monitoring live. Department running.

AND THEN, EVERY MONTH

The department doesn't stop at audit-ready. It stays running.

The monthly security posture report your board and investors will ask for. Ongoing audit cycles. Continuous customer questionnaire response. Quarterly tabletop exercises. Vendor and access reviews. 24/7 monitoring eyes on your environment.

WHEN STARTUPS COME TO US

Security stops being optional the moment someone with a checkbook asks for proof.

01
The First Enterprise Questionnaire

A prospect asks for proof of your security program. You don't have one. The deal stalls.

02
The Next Fundraise

Investors run security due diligence. Gaps slow your round or change your terms.

03
The Compliance Deadline

SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI-DSS — and the timeline is no longer hypothetical.

Industries

We work with Fintech, HealthTech, and B2B SaaS startups facing enterprise customer security demands or approaching their next compliance deadline.

🏦
Fintech

Bank partnerships and financial regulators demand the highest security standard. We know what they ask before they ask it.

SOC 2PCI-DSSSECGLBA
🏥
HealthTech

Patient data is the highest-value target in cybercrime. HIPAA isn't optional — it's the foundation every health startup must build on.

HIPAAHITRUSTSOC 2FDA
☁️
B2B SaaS

Enterprise customers won't sign without SOC 2. We get you there — and keep your security posture strong as your product scales.

SOC 2ISO 27001GDPRCCPA
Insights

Security knowledge for startup founders.

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What to do when your enterprise customer sends a 200-question security review

You just landed your dream enterprise prospect. Then their security team emails you a questionnaire that's longer than your entire product spec.

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Practical security guidance for startup founders — subscribe to get notified when our channel launches.
The Name
"Katla has been erupting for over 6,700 years. The next eruption is coming. They just don't know when."

BlackKatla is named for Iceland's most feared subglacial volcano — dormant beneath ice, overdue, catastrophically powerful when it moves. In security, the breach that destroys companies is never the one you expected. It's the one building silently for years. We are the team that sees what's building before it surfaces.

Sargam Bansal
Co-Founder & CEO
20 years building and running security programs across banking, payments, healthcare, and energy. Has stood up security and compliance programs from scratch three times, across very different industries — most recently for a retail subsidiary post-divestiture. Then led PCI compliance and cloud security across a $1B corporate payments portfolio at WEX — zero audit findings, 100% control-defense rate in external audits.
BK
Get In Touch

Tell us what's pressing.

Whether you're staring down a SOC 2 deadline, prepping for a Series B, or just got a 200-question security questionnaire from a prospect — tell us what's pressing. We'll give you a direct answer.

✉ hello@blackkatla.com
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