SIRI Shield — your legal team and your security team. One monthly retainer.
Stop paying surprise invoices after incidents. SIRI Shield is India's integrated legal and cybersecurity advisory retainer — a dedicated attorney, quarterly security assessments, DPDPA compliance monitoring, CERT-In compliance, and 24/7 incident response with a 2-hour SLA. Fixed monthly cost. No surprise invoices.
Getting the cost argument right, and current
The real number isn't a narrow "per-engagement" figure. It's India's record ₹25.5 crore average breach cost — and the biggest lever to reduce it is proactive testing.
Some retainer marketing cites a specific "average cost of a cyber incident response engagement" figure in isolation. We couldn't verify a precise, sourced number at that narrow scope, and a narrow figure understates the real argument anyway. The current, properly sourced picture is broader and more useful: IBM's 2026 Cost of a Data Breach Report, released 3 August 2026, puts India's average total organisational cost of a data breach at a record ₹25.5 crore, up 15.9% year on year — a figure that already includes detection, notification, lost business, and response together, not just legal and technical response fees taken alone.
What makes the retainer argument genuinely strong isn't a single big number — it's what the same report identifies as the biggest lever to bring that number down. Offensive security testing, the category that includes red teaming and penetration testing, was the single largest cost-reducing factor for Indian organisations in 2026, saving an average of ₹2.47 crore per breach. That's not a hypothetical benefit of "being more secure" in the abstract; it's the specific, measured, current-year finding that most directly justifies a retainer structure built around scheduled, proactive testing rather than a security relationship that only activates after something has already gone wrong.
Set against a record ₹25.5 crore average total cost and a demonstrated ₹2.47 crore saving from proactive testing alone, a fixed monthly retainer that starts at ₹30,000 is a comparison that doesn't need an invented per-engagement statistic to make its case.
The problem with reactive advisory
Most organisations pay for legal and security advisory reactively, at the worst possible time, at emergency rates, with unfamiliar advisers
These are the recurring patterns behind why organisations move from ad hoc engagement to a fixed retainer.
Emergency advisory costs are unpredictable and catastrophic
An unbudgeted breach response, regulatory investigation, or commercial dispute can cost ₹10–50 lakh in legal and technical fees — a sum that a fixed monthly retainer would have covered preventively.
Incident response without a pre-existing relationship is slower
When a breach occurs, time spent onboarding a new law firm and security company is time attackers use to exfiltrate data. SIRI Shield clients call one number — SIRI is already briefed, already authorised, already ready.
DPDPA compliance needs continuous management, not annual review
DPDPA obligations don't pause between annual compliance reviews. Regulatory changes, new vendor relationships, product feature releases, and staff changes all create compliance events that need real-time legal advisory.
Most organisations have unmanaged legal and security risk accumulating silently
Without continuous legal and security advisory, commercial contracts create silent liabilities, vendor relationships accumulate compliance gaps, and security posture drifts, until a breach or dispute makes the accumulated risk suddenly visible.
What SIRI Shield delivers
Six integrated advisory capabilities. One fixed monthly retainer.
Legal counsel, security testing, DPDPA compliance, and 24/7 incident response, managed as a single, continuously evolving advisory relationship.
Dedicated Legal Counsel
A named SIRI attorney assigned to your account, available for commercial contract review, regulatory questions, DPDPA advisory, and any legal matter that arises. No per-question billing. No unexpected invoices.
Quarterly Security Assessments
Quarterly penetration tests or security assessments calibrated to your environment — web application, network, cloud, or social engineering — keeping your security posture continuously validated.
DPDPA Compliance Monitoring
Continuous DPDPA compliance monitoring — regulatory change updates, consent architecture reviews, vendor DPA management, breach notification readiness, and compliance calendar management.
24/7 Incident Response — 2-Hour SLA
When a breach occurs, call one number. SIRI's legal and technical incident response team is activated within 2 hours — simultaneous legal counsel, technical forensics, CERT-In notification, and containment guidance.
Board & Leadership Reporting
Monthly security and compliance dashboards, quarterly board-level risk reports, regulatory change briefings, and executive security briefings, giving leadership the visibility governance oversight requires.
Contract Review & Legal Advisory
Unlimited commercial contract review within the agreed scope — MSA, vendor agreements, NDA, DPA, and employment contracts — reviewed by your dedicated attorney with turnaround aligned to your operational needs.
Why the retainer economics work
What the current numbers actually say
All-time high, up 15.9% year-on-year — the exposure a retainer is built to reduce before it materialises.
The single largest cost-reducing factor identified — built into every SIRI Shield tier as scheduled testing, not an emergency add-on.
Unbudgeted breach response, regulatory investigation, or dispute fees — a sum a retainer at ₹30K–75K/month would have covered preventively over a full year.
Legal counsel, technical forensics, and regulatory notification activated simultaneously from a team already briefed on your environment.
Why SIRI Shield
Why organisations choose SIRI Shield over reactive advisory
Only SIRI Shield gives you attorney-client privilege over security findings, a 2-hour incident response SLA, and continuous DPDPA monitoring, in a single fixed monthly relationship.
Predictable cost vs. catastrophic invoices
SIRI Shield clients pay a fixed monthly retainer. Without it, a single breach response, regulatory investigation, or commercial dispute can generate a ₹10–50 lakh invoice. SIRI Shield replaces surprise costs with a predictable advisory investment.
One call activates everything
When a breach occurs, SIRI Shield clients call one number. Legal counsel, technical forensics, CERT-In notification, and containment guidance activate simultaneously within 2 hours, from a team already briefed on your environment.
Privilege protects everything
All legal and technical findings documented under attorney-client privilege — security assessment results, breach investigation reports, compliance gap assessments — protected from subpoena in regulatory investigations and litigation.
Proactive, not reactive
SIRI Shield is designed to prevent the incidents that reactive advisory responds to — quarterly security testing, continuous DPDPA monitoring, and real-time contract review find the vulnerabilities and compliance gaps before they become crises.
SIRI Shield plans
Three retainer tiers for every stage of growth
Foundation for startups and SMEs · Growth for Series A and mid-market · Enterprise for complex organisations.
For Startups & SMEs
DPDPA compliance monitoring, monthly legal advisory (10 hours), annual penetration test, CERT-In compliance support, quarterly compliance report, and a 4-hour incident response SLA.
For Series A & Mid-Market
All Foundation features plus quarterly penetration tests, a dedicated named attorney, DPDPA implementation and monitoring, monthly board report, and a 2-hour incident response SLA.
For Complex Organisations
All Growth features plus continuous security monitoring (24/7 SOC), advanced threat hunting, custom regulatory compliance programmes, weekly board reporting, and a 1-hour incident response SLA.
Onboarding
You are protected from Day 1
Agreement Signed
Portal access granted. Legal privilege engaged. You are covered from the moment you sign.
Day 1Onboarding Call
Dedicated attorney meets your team. Tech stack reviewed. Risk profile created. Immediate priorities identified.
Days 2–7Baseline Assessment
Full legal and technical baseline delivered. Contract gaps identified. DPDPA readiness scored. Pentest scope agreed.
Days 8–30Steady-State Service
Monthly reporting. Retainer reviews. Proactive regulatory monitoring. Incident response on call.
Month 2+Case study · SIRI Shield in action
Growth-stage SaaS company closes ₹12 Cr enterprise contract after SIRI Shield compliance certificate accelerates procurement
A Hyderabad SaaS company on the SIRI Shield Growth plan was in enterprise procurement discussions with a large banking client. The bank's procurement team required DPDPA compliance evidence, a vendor DPA, security assessment results, and a breach notification SLA as conditions of contracting.
SIRI Shield provided all four within 72 hours — the DPDPA compliance documentation, a bank-ready DPA, the quarterly penetration test report, and the SIRI Shield 2-hour incident SLA. The ₹12 crore contract was signed 10 days later, a procurement timeline the client could not have hit without documentation that was already current and ready to hand over.
The comparison
Without SIRI Shield versus with SIRI Shield
| Capability | Ad-hoc reactive legal and security advisory | SIRI Shield Retainer |
|---|---|---|
| Cost structure | Unpredictable, escalating — emergency fees often at 2–3x standard rates due to urgency premium | Fixed monthly cost — no surprise invoices, a fraction of a single incident response engagement |
| Adviser familiarity | Unfamiliar advisers at critical moments, spending the first hours getting briefed | Pre-briefed team already familiar with your environment, contracts, and risk profile |
| DPDPA compliance | Annual exercise that misses continuous changes between reviews | Continuous monitoring and advisory as your business changes in real time |
| Incident response | No SLA — engagement and scoping take hours or days while the CERT-In window closes | Contractual 2-hour SLA — guaranteed response from the first call |
Frequently asked
SIRI Shield, answered directly
What is the difference between SIRI Shield plans?
Foundation (₹30,000/month) includes 10 hours monthly legal advisory, an annual penetration test, DPDPA monitoring, CERT-In compliance support, and a 4-hour incident SLA. Growth (₹75,000/month) adds quarterly penetration tests, a dedicated named attorney, a 2-hour incident SLA, monthly board reports, and full DPDPA implementation. Enterprise adds 24/7 SOC monitoring, advanced threat hunting, custom compliance programmes, and a 1-hour incident SLA. All plans include attorney-client privilege on all findings.
How does the 2-hour incident response SLA work?
When a breach, regulatory notice, or legal emergency occurs, you call one number. SIRI's incident response team acknowledges within 30 minutes and is actively working on your matter within 2 hours, with legal counsel, technical forensics, and regulatory notification capabilities activated simultaneously. The SLA is contractual and reported on monthly.
How much does a cyber incident actually cost an Indian organisation if you're not on a retainer?
According to IBM's 2026 Cost of a Data Breach Report, released 3 August 2026, the average total organisational cost of a data breach in India reached a record ₹25.5 crore, up 15.9% year on year, and that figure covers detection, notification, lost business, and post-breach response together, not incident-response legal and technical fees in isolation. The same report found offensive security testing was the single largest cost-reducing factor in India, saving an average of ₹2.47 crore per breach, which is precisely the kind of proactive, budgeted work a fixed monthly retainer is built to deliver before an incident occurs, rather than as an emergency expense afterward.
Can SIRI Shield replace our in-house legal and security functions?
For startups and SMEs, SIRI Shield typically replaces or supplements a small in-house legal and security function at significantly lower cost than building equivalent capability internally. For larger organisations, SIRI Shield operates as a specialist overlay supplementing internal capabilities with specialist expertise in cyber law, DPDPA, security testing, and incident response.
What happens when we need services beyond the retainer scope?
Services beyond scope are engaged at preferential retainer client rates, typically 20–30% below standard engagement rates. All out-of-scope work is agreed and quoted before it proceeds.
How quickly can we start a SIRI Shield retainer?
Onboarding for Foundation and Growth plans typically takes 2 weeks — initial assessment in week 1, contract execution and environment familiarisation in week 2. Emergency onboarding for organisations facing an active incident can be completed in 48 hours.
Is there a minimum contract term?
SIRI Shield retainers are available on 12-month contracts with monthly billing, or on 6-month starter terms. Annual billing attracts a 10% discount.
Ready when you are
Stop paying emergency rates when something goes wrong. Start with a SIRI Shield retainer.
Book a free 30-minute consultation. We will assess your current legal and security posture, identify your highest-priority gaps, and recommend the right SIRI Shield plan for your organisation.
Related services
What SIRI Shield draws on across the firm
Visit or contact us
SIRI Law LLP — Hyderabad, India
| Registered office | HITEC City, Madhapur, Hyderabad, Telangana 500081, India |
| Telephone | +91 79819 12046 |
| info@sirilawllp.com | |
| Other offices | New Delhi, India · Austin, Texas, USA · Online worldwide |
| Hours | Mon–Sat, 9:30 AM – 7:00 PM IST · Emergency line 24/7 |