Cyber Essentials & Cyber Essentials Plus

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As a Cyber Essentials certification body, we work with you to help your organisation meet the standard for Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus. As a responsible organisation, how do you demonstrate to customers and stakeholders that your security reaches a minimum standard?

One way is to take part in the government-backed Cyber Essentials scheme, and get certification for Cyber Essentials or Cyber Essentials Plus:

Cyber Essentials is required to enter into some public-sector contracts in the UK – and it’s also worth having to reassure stakeholders that basic security controls are in place.

Cyber Essentials Plus offers further reassurance as it involves a technical audit, on top of the self-assessment questionnaire required for Cyber Essentials.

At Redpalm, we are a certification body for Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus. We’ll work with you to help improve your security as necessary, and meet the standards required.

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What is Cyber Security Essentials?

The Cyber Essentials scheme is a government-backed programme that was launched in 2014, designed to help organisations of all sizes to defend themselves against the constantly evolving cyber security threats. The Cyber Security Essentials programme encourages businesses to adopt advanced cyber security practices to protect themselves. The scheme provides a clear statement of the appropriate technical controls that an organisation should have in place.

Cyber Essentials Basic is a self-assessed and independently-verified questionnaire that helps you check your IT infrastructure and ensure that it aligns with the Cyber Essentials baseline standard. If your organisation meets the criteria, the programme will offer a Cyber Essentials certification. A detailed cyber security assessment of this sort enables the organisation to showcase itself as trustworthy in terms of cyber security.

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What is Cyber Security Essentials Plus?

As part of our cyber security services, Cyber Essentials Plus is simply an expansion on the basic level of Cyber Essentials. This cyber security assessment also includes the assessment of the five basic technical controls. However, along with the self-assessed questionnaire, your organisation’s IT infrastructure will also be audited by a trained auditor.

To be certified for Cyber Essentials Plus, you will need to have achieved or passed the Cyber Essentials Basic certification. The auditor will need to confirm that all necessary controls as declared in your verified self-assessment are properly implemented within your organisation’s network.

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Cyber Essentials vs. Cyber Essentials Plus

Cyber Essentials is the entry-level certification that helps organisations demonstrate they have the essential controls in place to protect against common cyber threats. It is completed through a self-assessment questionnaire covering key areas such as firewalls, secure configuration, user access controls, malware protection, and patch management.

Cyber Essentials Plus includes the same technical requirements, but with one major difference: the assessment is independently audited by a qualified professional. Instead of relying on self-evaluation, a certified assessor will test your systems, verify that the controls are working as intended, and identify any vulnerabilities that may require attention.

For smaller organisations with straightforward systems, the standard Cyber Essentials certification is often sufficient. Larger organisations, or those wanting a higher level of assurance and industry trust, typically choose Cyber Essentials Plus due to the added credibility of an expert-led validation.

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