Vishnu Agarwal

Cybersecurity and IT governance leader with a seven-year independent advisory practice (2019–Present) across banking, capital markets, and manufacturing/export sectors — built on a foundation of hands-on security work dating back to 2018. I have operated at the most senior levels of organisations: advising boards, engaging C-suite leadership, and owning security and governance programs in a virtual CISO capacity. My engagements combine the rigour of a governance professional with the credibility of someone who has built security programs from zero, run them operationally, and defended them under regulatory and board scrutiny.

I build programs that last — structured, well-documented, and embedded into how the business runs. Across my practice I have authored 100+ SOPs and thousands of pages of security policy and governance documentation, managed VAPT audit cycles for RBI-regulated institutions over five consecutive years, and built and led security teams ranging from 5 to 25 people.

Founder & Principal Consultant — Cybersecurity & IT Governance Practice at Independent Practice (2019-01 – Present)

Built and scaled an independent consulting practice serving regulated and high-stakes environments — spanning ground-up security program builds, recurring IT/VAPT audits, virtual CISO leadership, and digital forensics.

Ground-Up Security Program Build — RBI-Regulated Co-operative Bank at SN&Co. (2019-01 – 2020-12)

Financial Services (Subsidiary of a Major Public-Sector Insurer) | 5 Branches

• Conducted a ground-up gap assessment and designed the bank's information security program from zero — policies, SOPs, and governance framework built to hold up under RBI audit scrutiny
• Built and led a dedicated 5–10 person team to implement and operate the new security program

VAPT Audit Management & Board Advisory — RBI-Regulated Co-operative Banks at SN&Co. (2020-01 – 2025-12)

Financial Services (Multiple Institutions) | Regulatory: RBI IT Framework

• Managed twice-yearly VAPT audit cycles across three RBI-regulated co-operative banks for five consecutive years — scoping, findings review, and remediation tracking
• Served as standing advisory to bank boards between audit cycles, shaping security policy, governance structure, and risk investment priorities
• Built and managed multiple 5–10 person security teams across these engagements

Digital Forensics & Security Audits — FMCG, Manufacturing & Market Research Clients at SN&Co. (2019-01 – 2025-12)

Cross-Sector (Paints/FMCG, Process Manufacturing, Market Research) | Project Basis

• Delivered digital forensics investigations and information security reviews/audits on a project-to-project basis for clients spanning a large FMCG/paints manufacturer, a diversified manufacturing group, a chemical/process manufacturer, and a leading market research organisation
• Reported findings, evidence handling outcomes, and remediation roadmaps directly to senior leadership at each organisation

Risk & Gap Assessment — Real Estate & Infrastructure Conglomerate at SN&Co. (2019-01 – 2025-12)

Real Estate & Infrastructure | Project Basis

• Conducted an enterprise risk assessment and IT security gap assessment; built a formal risk matrix mapping likelihood and impact across identified threats, and designed and implemented countermeasures to close priority gaps

IT Security Advisory — Architecture & Design Firm at SN&Co. (2019-01 – 2025-12)

Architecture & Design | Project Basis

• Delivered an IT security assessment and hardening roadmap for an architecture and design firm, advising leadership directly on infrastructure and data-protection priorities

Digital Forensics — Capital Markets (National Stock Exchange, SEBI-Directed) at Converg-Zeus (2025-01 – 2025-12)

Capital Markets | SEBI-Directed Engagement (Subcontracted)

• Engaged via subcontract to execute disk imaging and forensic acquisition for India's national equity exchange under SEBI direction, maintaining full chain-of-custody documentation throughout

Digital Forensics Process Development & Forensics Lab Setup at Independent Practice (2019-01 – Present)

Capability Build, Delivered for SN&Co. | Ongoing

• Authored end-to-end digital forensics procedures and protocols, and designed and set up a dedicated digital forensics lab — including complete operational and chain-of-custody minutiae — now used as the standard across the firm's forensics engagements

Ransomware Incident Response & Recovery — Healthcare & Diagnostics Provider at Independent Practice (2026-01 – 2026-12)

Healthcare & Diagnostics | In Collaboration with SN&Co.

• Led ransomware incident response and recovery for a healthcare/diagnostics provider following a ₹50 lakh (INR 50,00,000) ransom demand — managed the incident through to full resolution on the client's behalf

Virtual CISO — Manufacturing & Export (Labels & Stickers Manufacturer) at Independent Practice (2025-01 – 2026-08)

Manufacturing & Export

• Owned the organisation's full security function as vCISO: cybersecurity strategy, digital forensics, fraud investigation, forensic audits, GRC, ITGC/ITAC audits, and ISO 27001 audit & implementation, end-to-end
• Built and led a 25-person security team; authored the organisation's information security policies and ran ongoing security training and culture-building

Digital Forensics — IT & GST Search and Seizure Operations at Independent Practice (2019-01 – 2025-12)

Government-Directed Search & Seizure | Independent of SN&Co. and Converg-Zeus

• Conducted digital forensics support — imaging, data acquisition, and evidence preservation — for Income Tax and GST department search and seizure operations across Mumbai and Surat

Foundational Engagement — Post-Ransomware Recovery, Textile Manufacturing at Independent Practice (2018-01 – 2018-12)

Manufacturing (Surat) | The engagement that marked my transition into cybersecurity as a discipline

• Led recovery efforts following a ransomware attack at a textile manufacturing facility

Master of Science in Information Security – Indira Gandhi National Open University (2023-01)

Bachelor of Computer Applications in Computer Applications – Indira Gandhi National Open University (2018-01 – 2021-12)