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 Sam Wertheim, D.Cybersecurity, an Upwork Expert-Vetted (Top 1%) fractional CISO with 18 years across DoD (Defense Innovation Unit), financial services, Fortune 5 enterprises, and federal agencies, and I hold an active Secret clearance. I currently serve as fractional CISO to a NYDFS-regulated insurtech and as sitting CISO for an identity-governance platform. My doctoral research and enterprise work focus 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 - Win defense contracts — CMMC Level 2 / NIST 800-171 readiness for DoD suppliers - 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 - 100% Job Success · $600K+ earned · 5,400+ hours on Upwork - 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, CMMC) most generalists can’t match WHAT CLIENTS SAY “Sam is a pro and we would have lost a large corporate client without his help.” — SOC 2 / HIPAA client “He is extremely knowledgeable, responsive, and attentive.” — DevOps / AI security client “It was a pleasure working with Sam. He’s very knowledgeable and great to work with.” — Digital health client SOUND FAMILIAR? - Drowning in security questionnaires and vendor risk reviews? - Need to be audit-ready before your next enterprise deal closes? - Facing a CMMC deadline from the DoD or your prime contractor? - 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 - CMMC Level 2 readiness — CUI scoping, SSP, POA&M, assessment prep - 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, NIST 800-171, 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. Book a consultation or click Invite — bring your toughest compliance roadblock and I’ll tell you straight how I’d solve it. Sam Wertheim, D.Cybersecurity Fractional CISO / vCISO | SOC 2, HIPAA, NYDFS, CMMC & AI Security Upwork Top 1% Expert Vetted