What is Cyber Essentials?
Cyber Essentials is the UK Government’s minimum baseline standard for cyber security for organisations of all sizes. The annually renewable certification scheme is aligned to five technical controls designed to prevent the most common internet-based cyber security threats.
Almost half (43%) of all UK businesses suffered a cyber attack over the last year.
- Cyber Essentials is a UK government-backed certification that demonstrates that your organisation has implemented the essential security controls that protect against most common cyber threats. It is the minimum standard of security that the NCSC would advise every organisation to achieve.
- Implementing just five key controls reduces risk, strengthens resilience, and gives stakeholders verified assurance that your organisation prioritises cyber security and meets recognised baseline standards.
Cyber Essentials certification includes automatic cyber liability insurance for any UK organisation who certifies their whole organisation and has less than £20m annual turnover.
We are an official IASME Cyber Essentials and Cyber Assurance Certification Body. You can book your Cyber Essentials or Cyber Assurance Assessments directly through ourselves today.
How will Cyber Essentials help you?
- Provide assurance to customers that you take Cyber Security seriously!
- UK organisations with turnover <£20m that achieve Cyber Essentials - and certify their whole organisation - are entitled to free Cyber Liability Insurance
- Often required for government contracts
- Save time and reduce complexity on cyber security due diligence. Suppliers can also use Cyber Essentials as evidence across their customer base, reducing the time spent filling out duplicative questionnaires.
- Provide a tangible way for organisations to gain confidence that their suppliers, or other third parties, have effectively implemented fundamental technical controls and that they are protected from the majority of untargeted, commodity attacks.
- Cyber Essentials can play a significant role as an assurance tool and help address the challenges that many organisations face in securing and effectively managing their supply chains.
- Cyber Essentials has been proven effective against common cyber attacks, including supply chain threats.
- Stay head of new and old cyber security risks by assessing your systems against a recognised framework each year
- Apply for the growing number of contracts that address supply chain security with Cyber Essentials certification
What's the typical process?
Initial Security Assessment
Depending on your needs we can provide an initial assessment and report. If you just require the assessment we can hold a free 30 minute call to check you are ready.
Assist you with remediation
If you wish we can assist you with any remediations following the initial advice
Help you
gain certification
Once you feel you are ready for the Cyber Essentials assessment we will provide advice on the assessment process and how to apply
Ongoing Support and advice
If you need further support maintaining your certification we have a number of packages that can help according to your needs.
Cyber Essentials and your supply chain
Why Cyber Essentials is essential for you and your partners....
Do you know the risk from your supply chain? Asking your partners and supply chains to bolster their cyber security with Cyber Essentials is crucial. Attacks are becoming more frequent and more damaging, its not just your own systems that are at risk. Vulnerabilities in your supply chain can have a devastating effect on your business.
- Do you have the assurance from Cyber Essentials certification for your business?
- Are you confident your supply chain have the appropriate cyber hygiene. Can they provide the assurance that they will not impact your business going forward?
- If you are a supplier, it is likely you will be asked as part of procurement processes in future to provide Cyber Essentials Certification, so act now!
https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/information/cyber-essentials-supply-chain-playbook
Cyber Essentials FAQs
1.
What is Cyber Essentials?
Cyber Essentials is a UK government-backed certification scheme that shows your business has the essential technical controls in place to protect against the most common cyber attacks. It covers five key areas: firewalls, secure configuration, access control, malware protection, and security update (patch) management.
2.
Do I actually need Cyber Essentials, or is it just a nice-to-have?
For most SMEs it's more than a nice-to-have. It's mandatory for many UK central government contracts, increasingly requested by private-sector clients as a supplier requirement, and can reduce your cyber insurance premium. Beyond the paperwork, it also closes off the most common ways small businesses actually get breached.
3.
What's the difference between Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus?
Cyber Essentials is a self-assessment questionnaire, reviewed and verified by an independent assessor. Cyber Essentials Plus includes everything in the standard certification, plus a hands-on technical audit — vulnerability scans and checks carried out directly on a sample of your devices and systems. Plus gives a stronger level of assurance and is often specified for higher-risk contracts.
4.
How much does Cyber Essentials cost?
The official assessment fee is set by IASME (the scheme's accreditation body) and starts from £320 + VAT, rising on a sliding scale based on your organisation's size. You may also want some help or advice on how your business can pass the assessment which we can also provide. See Our Pricing here.
5.
How long does the process take?
Standard Cyber Essentials can often be completed within a few days to a couple of weeks, depending on how ready your systems already are and how quickly you can answer the questionnaire. We can give you an idea of this once we have assessed your business.
6.
What size of business can get certified?
Any size, from sole traders to large enterprises. The scheme uses UK government size definitions (micro, small, medium, large) purely to set the assessment fee — the technical requirements are the same for everyone.
7.
Do I need Cyber Essentials if I'm a sole trader or very small business?
You're not legally required to have it in most cases, but small businesses are frequently targeted precisely because they're assumed to have weaker defences. If you handle customer data, work with larger clients, or want to bid for public sector work, certification is often worth having regardless of company size.
8.
Does passing Cyber Essentials mean we can't be hacked?
No certification can guarantee that. What Cyber Essentials does is close off the attack routes responsible for the vast majority of successful cyber attacks on UK businesses, significantly reducing your risk. It's a strong baseline, not a guarantee.
9.
How long does the certificate last, and do we need to renew it?
Certification is valid for 12 months. You'll need to reassess and recertify annually to keep your certificate current — this is worth budgeting for as an ongoing cost, not a one-off.
10.
What happens if we don't pass first time?
It's more common than people think, and it's not a black mark — it usually just means a small gap needs addressing before resubmission. A good assessor will guide you through what needs fixing rather than simply failing you and walking away. We can help fill those gaps before the assessment to give you the best chance of passing first time.
11.
Where do we start?
The best first step is understanding where your current setup already meets the five controls and where the gaps are. Some useful resources to get you going are here
Contact Us
Tel: 07752997933