Cyber Essentials & Cyber Essentials Plus

Getting Cyber Essentials certified may seem daunting at first glance, but with an experienced IT partner, you take the guesswork out of guarding your organisation against cyber-attacks and achieving a valuable accreditation.
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What is Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus?

Launched in 2014, Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus are UK certification schemes that are backed by the UK Government and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). The scheme in essence is a way for an organisation to showcase excellent cyber security throughout their workforce and encourage better security practices. 

But do you need a good understanding of IT? The answer is – perhaps . There is training that comes with the certification so you can develop a grounding in what you need to know by going through the process but having an experienced IT partner to guide you through can save many hours of time and make sure you achieve the accreditation first time around. That’s especially true if your IT partner has done it all many times before. 

Why are businesses looking to become Cyber Essentials certified?

While not a legal requirement, it’s important to be clear on your cyber security stance. Understanding and being able to account for every area is necessary in attracting new business and new employees – it’s a sign of accreditation that can’t be bought any other way.  

If you’re looking to work with or are already working with the Government or any public sector body this may be a requirement depending on what sort of contract you’re signing, meaning it’s a good idea to investigate these if a customer vertical is the public sector.  

Let us help you through the process from start to finish

Reassuring business owners that they’re protected, the Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus schemes are imperative to customers and investors too.   

Cyber Essentials is commonly understood as a self-assessment – an annual checklist you need to tick off in order to redeem the certificate. If you have demonstrated that you’ve met all the requirements – and paid for the privilege based on your organisation size – from a Cyber Essentials Assessor, you can display the Cyber Essentials badge on your website. You’ll also receive feedback on where you can improve upon on your security measures.   

Cyber Essentials Plus follows this process but requires written answers and includes contributions from third-party assessors to boost credibility. The key distinction here is that your cyber security measures are independently tested, and with more depth, thus this package is for businesses with more complex environments.  

Boldfield have taken many companies down the path of improving cyber security and achieving accreditations. Our services span a wide range of areas, from explaining key concepts, helping with your self-assessment, ensuring you’re adhering to the correct security policies and making sure that you have the appropriate cyber security in place.  

Boldfield has all the tools required to help you achieve Cyber Essentials and the much more in-depth Cyber Essentials Plus including the penetration and vulnerability testing, comprehensive reporting and a remedial plan to ensure compliance.  

In turn, we’ll report this back to you and your organisation in a fully comprehensive strategy, fully engaging your team so everyone is knowledgeable of new procedure. We’ll also be the middleman between your organisation and the assessor, making sure everything is completed, reporting back to you on how to fill the gaps.  

Boldfield are your IT partner to ensure that you’re driving your way to passing your Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus certification. To discuss this further, contact a sales specialist today and cut through the security jargon. 

The benefits of Cyber Essentials certification

The need for stronger cyber security measures is becoming more prevalent as the need for transparency grows in a fully digital landscape. Having a strong understanding of what cyber security provisions you have at every level not only prevents cyber-attacks, it creates a cyber-first environment.  

As we’ve also mentioned, some Government and public sector contracts require the Cyber Essentials certification. That means without it, you could be restricting your new business. With having your organisation accredited, you’re widening your opportunity for new contracts to keep your revenue flowing.  

Frequently asked Cyber Essentials questions

How often does the certification need to be retaken? 

It needs to be processed annually to keep in line with Government regulation and updated requirements. 

 

How much does it cost?  

It widely depends on the headcount of the organisation, but Cyber Essentials starts at £300 + VAT. Cyber Essentials Plus is more complex in nature, so it costs slightly more. Typically, an SME could pay £1,400 + VAT.  

 

Is it the business or a named person that is certified? 

Businesses are awarded the certification, not people.  

 

How can we let our customers and prospects know we are certified?  

You can include the Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus logos on your website and company documents.