The Cyber Essentials scheme was originally launched in 2014. Though it’s not required for all businesses, some industries value the certification. Suppliers of the UK government for example, are required to be Cyber Essentials certified.
Since its launch, a total of 132,094 Cyber Essentials certificates have been awarded (including renewal certificates), with around 27,000 of those being awarded to unique businesses.
How can Cyber Essentials help my business?
A Cyber Essentials certification is a government backed scheme that helps to protect your business. There’s a vast array of cyber attacks that can happen but a lot of them are actually quite basic. If you go through the process of becoming accredited, you’ll be putting policies and procedures in place that will be help to prevent some of these attacks.
Being certified also offers your customers reassurance that you take cyber security seriously. Once certified, you will be listed on the directory of organisations who have been awarded Cyber Essentials.
How do I start the process of being Cyber Essentials certified?
There are various ways that you can engage with the Cyber Essentials scheme.
The simplest way is to review and familiarise yourself with the cyber security terminology, so that you can begin to secure your IT. You can find the detailed information on what is required on any of the official providers’ websites, such as IASME.
Once you’re happy with the approach you’d like to take, you can engage an IT consultant like ourselves to help you implement new policies & procedures into your business. Or, you can do this yourself. It’s not essential to consult with an IT provider, however you may find it beneficial if you’re short on time day-to-day, or you want to check your plans with a professional.
As well as Cyber Essentials certification, there is also Cyber Essentials Plus. This certification is more expensive, and involves an audit on your IT systems to check what you have in place.
Keep an our our for our next post which will outline in more detail what’s involved in achieving certification.