Cyber Essentials is a government-backed scheme which will help protect your business against the most common cyber-attacks.
The scheme is available to organisations of any size and is designed to help protect against cyberattacks of varying shapes and sizes.
Cyber Essentials comes in two levels of certification: Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus.
The difference between Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus?
Cyber Essentials:
- is a self-assessment certification which measures your defences against the most common cyberattacks, including Phishing, Malware, poor password hygiene and more
- will show you how to prevent attacks like these and help you get to grips with the basics of cyber-defence
- certification provides reassurance to your business that your defences will work against basic cyberattacks whilst alerting hackers to the fact that you have defences in place
Cyber Essentials Plus:
- includes all of the above PLUS a hands-on technical audit of your IT systems to confirm that the defences you have in place will be the job
To apply for Cyber Essentials, you must complete the online self-assessment form.
Why is it good for your business to have Cyber Essentials?
As well as helping to provide cyber protection to your business, getting the government’s Cyber Essentials certification helps your business in a number of ways. These include:
- reassuring your customers that you take cyber security seriously and are prepared in the eventuality of an attack
- attracting new clients by showing your commitment to investing in cyber security highlighting that their data and any transaction would be safe
- understanding the levels of cyber security in your business, how you can improve them and what you need to do to reach Cyber Essentials level
- allowing you to apply for government tenders which require you to have Cyber Essentials accreditation
What are the Cyber Essentials requirements?
There are 5 security controls that you will need to self-assess against in order to get certification. These are:
- Secure configuration
- Firewalls
- User access controls
- Security update management
- Malware protection
NEW FOR 2022 – the scope of the assessment now includes questions about home working, cloud services and employees using personal devices to access business information.
If you need any help with the Cyber Essentials updates and reaccreditation, please get in touch today!
How much does Cyber Essentials cost?
Cyber Essentials has a tiered pricing structure which makes it affordable for businesses of all sizes.
The price of the certification also reflects the work required to assess organisations that are larger than others.
The costs are:
- 0-9 Employees - £300 +VAT
- 10-49 Employees - £400 +VAT
- 50-249 Employees - £450 +VAT
- 250+ Employees - £500 +VAT
How do I know if my business ready for Cyber Essentials?
The government has developed a series of questions that are designed to take you through the Cyber Essentials requirements and give you an idea of whether you’ll pass or not. This is a great place to start if you’re new to Cyber Essentials!
However, being able answer these questions in full and complete the self-assessment form at the next stage, will require somebody in your business to fully understand the IT terminology in the questions and your existing IT infrastructure and defences.
How can Affinity help me with this?
If you don’t have an IT whizz in your business for any reason, our team of IT experts will be more than happy to help you with this! We will be able to:
- complete a full audit of your IT infrastructure and cyber defences with specific reference to the Cyber Essentials checklist
- provide support with the self-assessment form, explaining the terminology and requirements in simple terms
- advise and provide solutions for any areas of your cyber-defences which are flagged as needing improvement to become certified
- give you the green light that your business is ready to apply
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How can I apply for Cyber Essentials?
Once you have received the green light from our IT experts, your business will be able to work through the online self-assessment form.
After you have completed the form, a member of your business’s executive team will be required to sign a declaration that all answers that have been provided are accurate.
Unfortunately, we are unable to complete the self-assessment for you but we will be at the other end of the phone if you have any questions, if you enlisted our support to check your readiness.
Is Cyber Essentials enough on its own to protect my business from cyberattacks?
In short, no.
Cyber Essentials is a certification to reassure you that you’re protected against the most common attacks.
However, the elite cybercriminals are sophisticated, crafty and constantly looking for new ways to trip you up.
Having multiple layers to your cybersecurity is crucial, as is having a reliable IT partner in place to help monitor and manage this for you.
At Affinity, we are specialists in implementing top quality cyber defences and taking control of keeping hackers out.
If you are looking for an IT partner you can trust, please contact us today!
