June 16, 2026
San Diego, CA
ICE Cybersecurity is proud to announce the launch of AICISO.
Born from decades of experience leading cybersecurity organizations, AICISO is the culmination of ten years of development focused on solving a complex problem:
How do you design, build, and operate an effective cybersecurity program for small and midsize businesses?
Cybersecurity in SMBs is primarily delivered by either internal IT teams with other responsibilities or by fractional consultants, often referred to as virtual Chief Information Security Officers (vCISOs).
Both approaches are valid. However, over the years, we found they share two common challenges.
The IT team that tries to do both IT and cybersecurity faces an inherent challenge, and it is not the fault of the IT team.
IT exists to help the business operate efficiently. Email, internet, ERP systems, CRM platforms, EMRs, and countless other technologies require skilled professionals who understand both the technology and the business.
Cybersecurity has a different mission.
Its job is to understand what could go wrong, identify risk, and reduce the likelihood and impact of bad outcomes.
These missions are complementary, but they are different.
That may sound manageable on paper. In practice, it is exceptionally difficult.
To address this challenge, many organizations turn to experienced consultants or vCISOs.
Simple solution, right?
The challenge is that experienced cybersecurity leaders are difficult to find.
A strong vCISO often has fifteen or more years of practical experience spanning technology, cybersecurity, governance, risk management, compliance, and business leadership.
The combination of scarcity, experience, and expertise means good vCISOs are expensive.
And the cost does not stop there.
Even with a great vCISO, organizations still need tools, staff, processes, and budget to execute an effective cybersecurity program.
There are other factors we discovered along the way. However, in engagement after engagement, these two challenges consistently created significant barriers to cybersecurity success for SMBs.
The cybersecurity industry will tell you that more consultants and more products will solve all your problems.
"If we can only train more vCISOs."
"If you buy more layers of security products, you'll be safe."
These are common messages.
While we undoubtedly need more trained cybersecurity professionals, and we must continue evolving our technology stacks to address emerging threats, the outcome for many organizations is often an ever-increasing cybersecurity budget without a meaningful reduction in risk.
There is some truth behind this thinking.
Effective cybersecurity requires a solid understanding of the business, a strong foundation in technology, the ability to analyze and manage risk, and the experience to align an organization around practical risk-reduction initiatives.
This combination of experience, technical expertise, risk management, and business acumen is exceptionally difficult to find and retain.
Ten years ago, we set out to build a business that could address this problem at scale.
Our hypothesis was simple:
We believed we could build a software platform that delivers consistency while remaining adaptable to the unique needs of every business.
So we dug in.
We worked closely with our customers to better understand their businesses.
We brought decades of experience in technology leadership and used that experience to identify the common threads that run through successful cybersecurity programs.
Over time, those insights allowed us to build a platform that helps a team of vCISOs support a growing portfolio of customers while maintaining a consistently high standard of service.
Today, SMBs face significant cybersecurity requirements.
From direct regulations such as HIPAA, CCPA, CPRA, FTC Safeguards, GDPR, and others, to customer and partner security requirements, to cyber insurance obligations, SMBs have never faced a higher cybersecurity bar than they do today.
With the growing focus on supply chain security, yes, even for SMBs, this trend is not going to get easier.
The requirements for cybersecurity do not scale particularly well to SMBs. As a result, organizations are often left competing for a limited pool of experienced cybersecurity leaders or relying on already-busy IT teams to take on additional cybersecurity responsibilities.
There are certainly pockets of success with these approaches.
However, they are difficult to scale and increasingly difficult to sustain as threats, vulnerabilities, regulations, and technology continue to evolve.
In our view, this problem is begging, perhaps even pleading, for a better solution.
Today, we announce our latest platform release: AICISO.
AICISO is the culmination of a decade of development, customer feedback, and evolving requirements, resulting in a platform that makes cybersecurity simpler for SMBs.
Our belief is simple.
A risk-based approach to cybersecurity is the most effective way for SMBs to manage complexity, control costs, and meet the growing demands of cybersecurity and modern technology.
Our approach is simple.
AICISO gathers observations from technologies organizations already use and contextualizes that information within the realities of their business.
The result is a clear roadmap for reducing risk.
If there is no meaningful risk, there is nothing to do.
If there is a risk worth addressing, AICISO provides a grounded, prioritized strategy that business leaders and technical teams can understand.
With this software-driven approach, we are helping organizations reduce complexity, focus on what matters most, and spend more time on their business.
Cybersecurity will continue to evolve.
The technology will evolve.
The threats will evolve.
The requirements will evolve.
What will not change is the need for organizations to understand risk and make informed decisions.
That is why we built AICISO.
We invite you to join us on this journey and learn how AICISO can become your cybersecurity easy button.
Interested in learning more about AI CISO?
Visit www.aiciso.com to see how we're helping SMBs understand risk, prioritize actions, and make informed cybersecurity decisions.
Or reach out to our team sales@aiciso.com to start a conversation.
AICISO is a registered trademark of ICE Cybersecurity, Inc.