// Case Studies

Real engagements. Measurable outcomes.

Selected work from Dephiant's vCISO, incident response, cloud security, and compliance practices. Details anonymized where required by NDA.

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49 of 49 case studies

Regional bank reaches SOC 2 Type II in 11 months
Financial ServicesvCISO / Fractional CISO

Regional bank reaches SOC 2 Type II in 11 months

Embedded vCISO leadership delivered a clean SOC 2 Type II audit with zero exceptions, unlocking three enterprise deals.

0
Audit exceptions
11 months
Time to Type II
$4.2M
Enterprise pipeline unlocked
Series B healthtech builds a HIPAA program around a fractional CISO
HealthcarevCISO / Fractional CISO

Series B healthtech builds a HIPAA program around a fractional CISO

Replaced ad-hoc compliance with a named security leader, a written roadmap, and a HIPAA Security Rule program that survived an enterprise customer audit.

Passed
Customer audit
31
BAAs executed
$1.8M ARR
Deal closed
B2B SaaS rebuilds board-level security reporting after CISO exit
SoftwarevCISO / Fractional CISO

B2B SaaS rebuilds board-level security reporting after CISO exit

Stepped in 11 days after the CISO resigned, kept SOC 2 surveillance on-track, and ran the next two board meetings without disruption.

Clean
SOC 2 surveillance
2
Board meetings led
8 months
Permanent CISO seated
Specialty hospital network blunts ransomware staged against a peer
HealthcareCyber Intelligence

Specialty hospital network blunts ransomware staged against a peer

Sector-focused intel surfaced infrastructure overlap with a peer hospital intrusion 96 hours before the affiliate pivoted to our client.

142
Indicators blocked
0
Affected systems
6 hrs
Time from intel to block
B2B SaaS catches typosquatted dependency before production deploy
SoftwareCyber Intelligence

B2B SaaS catches typosquatted dependency before production deploy

Dependency-focused intel flagged a typosquatted npm package on the build server seven minutes after publication, blocking a credential-stealing payload.

7 minutes
Time to detect
0
Credentials exfiltrated
12
Build pipelines hardened
Manufacturer segments OT network ahead of ransomware wave
ManufacturingCyber Intelligence

Manufacturer segments OT network ahead of ransomware wave

Network segmentation and proactive intel monitoring kept three production lines online during a sector-wide ransomware campaign.

0 hrs
Production downtime
27
Intel-driven blocks
−18%
Cyber insurance premium
B2B SaaS rebuilds AWS landing zone, cuts cloud risk by 71%
SoftwareCloud Security

B2B SaaS rebuilds AWS landing zone, cuts cloud risk by 71%

Replaced a single-account AWS sprawl with an Organizations-based landing zone and reduced critical CSPM findings from 312 to 90.

−71%
Critical findings
19 → 0
Long-lived keys
−84%
IAM tickets / week
Manufacturer modernizes Azure tenant before a $90M ERP cutover
ManufacturingCloud Security

Manufacturer modernizes Azure tenant before a $90M ERP cutover

Re-architected an unmanaged Azure tenant into a Cloud Adoption Framework landing zone in time for the ERP go-live.

612 closed
High findings
On-time
ERP cutover
−68%
Privileged accounts
AI startup hardens GCP for an enterprise model deployment
Artificial IntelligenceCloud Security

AI startup hardens GCP for an enterprise model deployment

Locked down GCP projects hosting model training and inference so a Fortune 100 customer could approve production deployment.

Per-project
Tenant isolation
23 → 0
Service-account keys
Granted
Enterprise approval
Industrial group ships a plant copilot with documented safety rails
ManufacturingAI Guardrails

Industrial group ships a plant copilot with documented safety rails

Wrote the policy, evaluation harness, and human-in-the-loop controls that let an operator-facing LLM ship to 14 plants without slowing safety review.

0 in eval
Hazardous outputs
14
Plants live
−62%
Legal review time
AI startup ships LLM features with documented guardrails
Artificial IntelligenceAI Guardrails

AI startup ships LLM features with documented guardrails

Built a prompt-injection test harness and policy framework that let a 12-person team launch enterprise LLM features in 6 weeks.

97%
Adversarial prompts blocked
6 weeks
Time to launch
5
Enterprise deals unblocked
AmLaw firm rolls out an AI use policy across 480 attorneys
LegalAI Guardrails

AmLaw firm rolls out an AI use policy across 480 attorneys

Replaced an outright ban with a tiered policy, vetted toolset, and evaluation pipeline that satisfied ethics counsel and the executive committee.

480
Attorneys covered
−91%
Shadow AI tools
4
Sanctioned tools
AI startup stands up enterprise-grade IT before Series B
Artificial IntelligenceIT Advisory

AI startup stands up enterprise-grade IT before Series B

Translated a founder-built IT environment into an enterprise-ready stack. Identity, endpoint, ticketing, and procurement. In 90 days.

100% of diligence list
Controls satisfied
90 days
Time to operate
0 days
Diligence delay
Boutique law firm rationalizes a sprawled SaaS portfolio
LegalIT Advisory

Boutique law firm rationalizes a sprawled SaaS portfolio

Cut 41 redundant SaaS tools, consolidated identity onto a single IdP, and freed $612k in annual spend.

41
Tools retired
$612k
Annual savings
100%
Renewals under review
Specialty retailer standardizes store IT across 92 locations
RetailIT Advisory

Specialty retailer standardizes store IT across 92 locations

Replaced eight overlapping point-of-sale and back-office stacks with a single reference architecture and a written rollout plan.

92
Stores converted
−51%
Ticket volume
1.5 days/store
Mean rollout time
International law firm certifies to ISO 27001 across three offices
LegalCompliance

International law firm certifies to ISO 27001 across three offices

Ran the certification end-to-end. Gap assessment to surveillance plan. Across NY, London, and Singapore in 9 months.

Yes
ISO 27001 certified
3
Offices covered
0 major
Non-conformities
E-commerce brand passes PCI DSS 4.0 after failed audit
RetailCompliance

E-commerce brand passes PCI DSS 4.0 after failed audit

Rebuilt scoping, segmentation, and quarterly scans to clear PCI DSS 4.0 in 90 days after a failed QSA assessment.

Passed
PCI DSS 4.0
−62%
CDE host count
90
Days to remediation
EdTech platform clears statewide FERPA review for K-12 contract
EducationCompliance

EdTech platform clears statewide FERPA review for K-12 contract

Authored the FERPA, COPPA, and state data-privacy artifacts that unlocked a statewide deployment to 612 districts.

612
Districts cleared
5 days
DPA turn-around
Awarded
RFP
DTC retailer contains a Magecart skimmer in 4 hours
RetailIncident Response

DTC retailer contains a Magecart skimmer in 4 hours

End-to-end IR for a JavaScript skimmer injected via a third-party tag manager. Contained and notified within a single business day.

4 hrs
Containment time
0 confirmed
Cards exposed
100% of checkout
CSP coverage
K-12 district restores classrooms after ransomware in 6 days
EducationIncident Response

K-12 district restores classrooms after ransomware in 6 days

Stood up incident command, recovered backups, and rebuilt domain trust in time for classes to resume after Thanksgiving.

6 days
Classes resumed
None confirmed
Data exfiltration
Approved
Insurance reimbursement
Logistics provider rehearses ransomware before it hits
LogisticsIncident Response

Logistics provider rehearses ransomware before it hits

Two executive tabletop exercises surfaced 14 broken assumptions in their IR plan. Fixed before a real Akira intrusion later that quarter.

14 / 14
Gaps remediated
Yes
Insurance renewed
4 hrs
Real-incident downtime
EdTech platform shuts down a coordinated account-fraud ring
EducationIntelligence Support

EdTech platform shuts down a coordinated account-fraud ring

Open-source and dark-web intel mapped a fraud ring abusing free-tier accounts to launder stolen cards. And powered a coordinated takedown.

1,420
Fraud-ring accounts removed
−66%
Chargebacks
9
Takedowns supported
Trucking carrier protects drivers from coordinated doxxing
LogisticsIntelligence Support

Trucking carrier protects drivers from coordinated doxxing

Monitoring forum chatter and breach data preempted a doxxing campaign targeting drivers handling high-value freight lanes.

210
Driver records scrubbed
0 post-program
Doxxing incidents
< 48 hrs
Time-to-takedown
International nonprofit defends against mission-targeted intrusions
NonprofitIntelligence Support

International nonprofit defends against mission-targeted intrusions

Country-team-aligned intel briefs let security ops pre-position defenses before two state-aligned phishing waves.

2 of 2
Phishing waves blocked
38
Country leads trained
612
Indicator-based blocks
3PL builds an on-time-delivery analytics platform in 12 weeks
LogisticsAdvanced Analytics Implementation

3PL builds an on-time-delivery analytics platform in 12 weeks

Replaced a spreadsheet-driven KPI process with a governed warehouse, semantic layer, and shipper-facing dashboards.

12 weeks
Time to ship
94%
On-time accuracy
31
Manual reports retired
National nonprofit modernizes donor analytics, lifts retention 18%
NonprofitAdvanced Analytics Implementation

National nonprofit modernizes donor analytics, lifts retention 18%

Built a governed donor-analytics stack and segmentation models that improved retention and reduced wasted appeal spend.

+18%
Donor retention
−24%
Appeal cost / dollar raised
21
Dashboards live
Regional utility cuts load-forecast error in half with ML pipeline
EnergyAdvanced Analytics Implementation

Regional utility cuts load-forecast error in half with ML pipeline

Replaced a legacy load-forecasting spreadsheet with a governed ML pipeline and an operator-facing review workflow.

7.8% → 3.6%
Forecast MAPE
−$1.4M / yr
Imbalance charges
Yes
Model documented
Nonprofit publishes a 3-year digital transformation roadmap
NonprofitDigital Transformation Strategy

Nonprofit publishes a 3-year digital transformation roadmap

Aligned 14 program areas on a single transformation roadmap with named owners, dependencies, and quarterly outcomes.

27
Initiatives sequenced
$1.1M
Duplicate spend identified
Yes
Board-approved roadmap
Energy utility ships a modern customer portal in 11 months
EnergyDigital Transformation Strategy

Energy utility ships a modern customer portal in 11 months

Authored the strategy, RFP, and program governance for replacing a 12-year-old self-service portal serving 1.2M customers.

+32%
Call-center deflection
Conformant
WCAG 2.2 AA
+24 pts
Customer NPS
Mid-size city authors a unified resident-services strategy
GovernmentDigital Transformation Strategy

Mid-size city authors a unified resident-services strategy

Replaced 11 department-by-department service portals with a unified strategy, accessibility baseline, and procurement plan.

11 → 1 (planned)
Department portals
WCAG 2.2 AA
Accessibility baseline
Unanimous
Council adoption
Electric utility rolls out zero trust across 4,200 endpoints
EnergyEnterprise IT Solutions

Electric utility rolls out zero trust across 4,200 endpoints

Delivered identity-, device-, and network-layer zero-trust controls across a hybrid utility environment without disrupting field operations.

4,200
Endpoints onboarded
−92%
VPN dependency
0
Lateral-movement incidents
County government migrates 6,800 mailboxes to Microsoft 365
GovernmentEnterprise IT Solutions

County government migrates 6,800 mailboxes to Microsoft 365

Cut a multi-year migration plan in half by leading the discovery, identity baseline, and rollout for a CJIS-regulated environment.

6,800
Mailboxes migrated
14 months
Migration window
0 open
CJIS findings
National broadcaster modernizes identity for 9,400 staff and contractors
Media & EntertainmentEnterprise IT Solutions

National broadcaster modernizes identity for 9,400 staff and contractors

Replaced 11 legacy directories with a single IdP and lifecycle automation that survived live-production cutovers.

11
Directories retired
< 4 hrs
Offboarding SLA
−61%
Help-desk identity tickets
State agency stands up a digital accessibility program
GovernmentDEI Tech Consulting

State agency stands up a digital accessibility program

Replaced reactive ADA complaints with a proactive program: standards, tooling, training, and a procurement gate.

92% of in-scope pages
WCAG 2.2 AA conformance
−74%
Open ADA complaints
140
Engineers trained
Streaming media company embeds inclusive review into the product pipeline
Media & EntertainmentDEI Tech Consulting

Streaming media company embeds inclusive review into the product pipeline

Built a repeatable inclusive-design review for every product launch. Accessibility, captioning, and representation. And trained 320 product staff.

98% of catalog
Caption coverage
−78%
Post-launch accessibility hotfixes
320
Product staff trained
Fintech redesigns onboarding for screen-reader and low-bandwidth users
Financial ServicesDEI Tech Consulting

Fintech redesigns onboarding for screen-reader and low-bandwidth users

Cut onboarding drop-off for screen-reader users by 41% and improved performance for low-bandwidth markets.

−41%
Screen-reader drop-off
+27%
3G conversion
Conformant
WCAG 2.2 AA
Media company decommissions two data centers, cuts IT emissions 38%
Media & EntertainmentSustainability & Green IT Consulting

Media company decommissions two data centers, cuts IT emissions 38%

Replaced two aging data centers with a hybrid-cloud target operating model, cutting scope 2 IT emissions and recurring lease cost.

−38%
Scope 2 IT emissions
$2.4M
Annual lease savings
2
Data centers retired
Regional bank pairs FinOps with carbon accounting for cloud
Financial ServicesSustainability & Green IT Consulting

Regional bank pairs FinOps with carbon accounting for cloud

Embedded carbon-aware metrics next to cost in the bank's FinOps practice, surfacing $1.6M of right-sizing and a 22% IT emissions cut.

$1.6M / yr
Cloud spend recovered
−22%
IT scope-3 emissions
1,400
Workloads right-sized
Hospital system reduces imaging-archive energy use 44%
HealthcareSustainability & Green IT Consulting

Hospital system reduces imaging-archive energy use 44%

Migrated cold imaging archives to energy-efficient object storage and tiered access. Saving cost and emissions without affecting clinical workflows.

−44%
Archive energy use
$840k
Annual storage savings
0
Clinical SLA breaches
Global manufacturer stands up an enterprise cybersecurity governance program
ManufacturingvCISO / Fractional CISO

Global manufacturer stands up an enterprise cybersecurity governance program

Built a board-reporting governance program spanning 14 business units, with a single risk register, control catalog, and quarterly cadence.

6 → 1
Frameworks consolidated
Quarterly
Board reporting cadence
5 months
Time to enterprise risk view
National retailer transforms PCI DSS 4.0 compliance across 1,400 stores
RetailCompliance & Audit Readiness

National retailer transforms PCI DSS 4.0 compliance across 1,400 stores

Re-architected cardholder data environment and operationalized PCI DSS 4.0 future-dated requirements ahead of the 2025 deadline.

−72%
CDE in-scope systems
9 mo → 6 wk
Audit prep time
0 critical
Findings at ROC
Mid-market insurer builds a quantitative cybersecurity risk management program
InsuranceRisk & Compliance Strategy

Mid-market insurer builds a quantitative cybersecurity risk management program

Moved from heat-map risk reporting to FAIR-based quantification, enabling the board to trade off security spend in dollar terms.

27
Quantified top scenarios
$18.4M
Planned ALE reduction
+41%
Approved security budget
Logistics provider rebuilds a security awareness program after a phishing breach
Transportation & LogisticsSecurity Awareness & Training

Logistics provider rebuilds a security awareness program after a phishing breach

Replaced annual click-through training with a role-based program; phishing click rate dropped from 28% to 3% in two quarters.

28% → 3%
Phishing click rate
11% → 64%
Report-suspicious rate
−81%
Repeat-offender pool
Multi-product SaaS firm launches a cloud security governance initiative
Technology / SaaSCloud Security & Architecture

Multi-product SaaS firm launches a cloud security governance initiative

Standardized landing zones, guardrails, and CSPM across 3 AWS organizations to keep velocity while ending shadow-account sprawl.

100%
Accounts under guardrails
−68%
High-severity drift MTTR
3 days → 30 min
New-account provisioning
Biopharma launches an enterprise third-party risk management program
HealthcareThird-Party / Vendor Risk Management

Biopharma launches an enterprise third-party risk management program

Tiered 1,200 suppliers by data and operational risk, automated assessments, and tied results to procurement gates.

1,200
Vendors tiered & assessed
−63%
Assessment cycle time
100%
Tier-1 continuous monitoring
Federal civilian agency accelerates cybersecurity modernization to meet OMB mandates
GovernmentGovernment & Public Sector Cybersecurity

Federal civilian agency accelerates cybersecurity modernization to meet OMB mandates

Stood up Zero Trust architecture aligned to OMB M-22-09, with phishing-resistant MFA, EDR, and encrypted DNS across 40k endpoints.

100%
Endpoints with EDR + eDNS
100%
Privileged MFA (phish-resistant)
9 mo → 11 wk
ATO cycle time
MSP overhauls incident response and resilience after a ransomware near-miss
Technology / SaaSIncident Response & Digital Forensics

MSP overhauls incident response and resilience after a ransomware near-miss

Designed an MSP-grade IR playbook, ran tabletop and red-team exercises, and validated immutable backups for every client tier.

−74%
Mean time to contain (red team)
100%
Backup restore success
+12 NPS
Client retention post-exercise
R1 university launches a higher-education cybersecurity workforce development program
EducationSecurity Awareness & Training

R1 university launches a higher-education cybersecurity workforce development program

Co-designed a stackable cyber credential pathway with industry partners, placing 240 students into SOC and GRC apprenticeships.

240
Students placed
37
Employer hiring partners
−9 months
Time-to-first-cyber-role
Global media company launches an AI governance and risk strategy initiative
Media & PublishingAI Security & Guardrails

Global media company launches an AI governance and risk strategy initiative

Built an AI governance program covering inventory, risk tiering, model evaluations, and human-in-the-loop guardrails aligned to NIST AI RMF and EU AI Act.

186
AI use cases inventoried
100%
High-risk gated pre-launch
−71%
Time-to-approval (low risk)