Sam W.

Turn Security Into Your Fastest Path to Revenue Enterprise clients won't sign until you can prove security, privacy, and compliance. I get you there — fast, audit-ready, and without grinding your roadmap to a halt. I'm Dr. Sam Wertheim, an Upwork Expert-Vetted (Top 1%) fractional CISO with 17+ years across DoD (Defense Innovation Unit), Fortune-scale enterprises, and federal agencies. I currently serve as fractional CISO to a NYDFS-regulated insurtech and as sitting CISO for an identity-governance platform. My doctoral research focuses on AI-driven social engineering — bringing both battle-tested compliance execution and a forward view on where threats are heading. WHERE I CREATE VALUE - Close enterprise deals — SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, HIPAA, NYDFS §500, done right and audit-ready - Secure cloud & AI products — AWS, Azure, GCP, SaaS platforms, and the new risk surface AI introduces - Strengthen risk posture — without slowing the business down WHY CLIENTS KEEP ME ON RETAINER - Executive security leadership at a fraction of a full-time CISO's cost - A practitioner, not just an advisor — I've run the pen tests, built the SIEM, filed the regulatory certifications - Deep regulatory specialization (NYDFS §500, SOC 2, ISO 27001) most generalists can't match WHAT CLIENTS SAY - "The SOC 2 work let us close a Fortune 100 contract we'd been stuck on for months." — SaaS founder - "ISO 27001 certified faster than we thought possible. It opened doors immediately." — Series-stage CTO - "Compliance finally stopped being the thing that slowed our sales cycle." — B2B SaaS CEO SOUND FAMILIAR? - Drowning in security questionnaires and vendor risk reviews? - Need to be audit-ready before your next enterprise deal closes? - Running Vanta, Drata, or Sprinto but unsure what comes next? - Shipping AI-driven products and unsure how to govern the risk? - Want ongoing CISO leadership without a full-time hire? CORE SERVICES - Fractional / virtual CISO (vCISO) — ongoing security leadership - Compliance & audit readiness — SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, HIPAA, GDPR, NYDFS §500 - Penetration testing & security assessments - Security questionnaires & vendor risk — pass enterprise reviews quickly - AI security & governance — for teams building AI-driven products EXPERTISE - Frameworks: SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, NIST 800-53, NYDFS §500, GDPR, HIPAA, CMMC, HITRUST - Cloud & security: AWS, Azure, GCP, SIEM, IAM, Zero Trust, endpoint security - GRC tooling: OneTrust, Whistic, CyberGRX, Panorays, Graphite Connect, Vanta / Drata / Sprinto Let's talk. Message me or click Invite for a free consultation — bring your toughest compliance roadblock and I'll tell you straight how I'd solve it. Dr. Sam Wertheim · Fractional CISO · Upwork Expert-Vetted Top 1% Cybersecurity Expert | Threat Intelligence | AI Security | Governance, Risk, and Compliance