Cyber Essentials & Cyber Essentials Plus

In the digital age, there’s no shortage of cyber threats to your business, including phishing scams, malware or large-scale hacks. Cyber attacks are an ever-present issue for organisations of all sizes and can cause severe damage to their systems and operations.

As a responsible organisation, this makes it all the more important for you to ensure that your company has a robust cyber security approach in place. This will help you prevent security breaches and keep your sensitive data secure from cybercriminals.

As a renowned cyber security services company and a Cyber Essentials certification body, our IT engineers can work with you to improve your cyber security services and ensure that your organisation meets the required standards for the Cyber Essentials scheme.

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.

The five main controls enforced by the Cyber Security Essentials scheme are as follows:

• Firewalls
• Secure Configuration
• Access Control
• Security Update Management
• Malware Protection

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.

This audit is carried out by an IASME-governed certification body. Your Cyber Essentials Plus assessment will need to be completed within 3 months of your ‘basic’ certification.

At Redpalm, we can provide you with a dedicated security consultant to help you improve your cyber security services and offer guidance as and when required. As one of the most trusted cyber security companies in the UK, we take pride in offering extensive cyber security assessments and cyber security essentials.

Contact us to help you validate your company’s systems and undertake a cyber security assessment to ensure that you have the correct technical controls and processes in place.

The Differences Between Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus

The Cyber Essentials Basic scheme is a self-assessment questionnaire that can be carried out by your organisation’s employees. In Cyber Essentials Plus, the audit must be conducted by a professional.

While Cyber Essentials Basic is ideal for SMEs with a few system processes, Cyber Essentials Plus is better suited for larger organisations. If you want to claim yourself among a pool of trustworthy cyber security companies, considering these schemes is essential. With Cyber Essentials Plus, a qualified assessor will thoroughly examine your organisation’s controls and systems to determine any vulnerabilities.

The Benefits of the Cyber Essentials Scheme

• The scheme aims to protect your organisation from a majority of cyber attacks.
• With a robust security approach, you can detect and defend your company against cyber attacks before it’s too late.
• The scheme makes your organisation eligible to apply for government tenders.
• The scheme helps to ensure that your company stays up to date with good cyber security practices by regularly auditing, assessing and reviewing your security controls.
• This scheme offers vulnerability checks for your systems. This helps your organisation identify and address potential internal and external vulnerabilities in its systems, networks, and applications.
• If you have the Cyber Essentials certification, your partners and suppliers will know that you take your cyber security seriously. This will also help you build the trust of your customers as they can rest assured that their sensitive data will be secure with your organisation.
• With the Cyber Essentials accreditation, you can also differentiate your organisation from your competitors in the industry.

If you’re considering applying for the Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus schemes, our IT experts at Redpalm can help you conduct an initial review to ensure that your organisation meets the criteria. Call us today!