Get accredited and protect your UK business
Cyber Essentials is a government-backed and industry-supported scheme to guide UK-based businesses in protecting themselves against common cyber threats.
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Cyber Essentials consultancy
What is a Cyber Essentials accreditation? Does my business need it?
The main objective of the Cyber Essentials assessment is to show that your organisation has effectively implemented the controls required by the Scheme, in order to defend against the most common forms of cyber-attack.
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Our Cyber Essentials consultancy service
To help you achieve your Cyber Essentials accreditation, we offer an in-depth consultancy service to ensure your business gets accredited.
Reviewing current IT
Our fully trained Cyber Essentials specialists will visit your business in person to undertake a gap analysis. We will review your network and general IT practices and see where they sit against the standard for Cyber Essentials certification.
Creation of gap report
After our visit, we will create a gap report that will help you to understand what you may need to do before applying for certification.
Fill in the gaps
We then work with you to fill the gaps in your cybersecurity processes and policies. This will allow you to pass your self-assessment and achieve your Cyber Essentials accreditation.
Help with renewal
When it comes to your business’ Cyber Essentials annual review, we will be on hand to help and provide advice, ensuring you achieve your renewed accreditation once again.
Benefits of a Cyber Essentials accreditation
Nowadays, it’s critical that a business can demonstrate an understanding of the best practices when it comes to preventing cyber-attacks.
With the right guidance, businesses can identify gaps in their knowledge about cybersecurity and build the best processes and policies.
- Updated processes to address current risks
- Improve the trust your business has with its clients and suppliers
- Win more contracts as Cyber Essentials becomes a prerequisite for new work
- Improve GDPR compliance in the long run
- Minimise the likelihood of an attack by 80%
Why is a Cyber Essentials accreditation important?
- Government-backed, industry approved accreditation
- Protects your business
- Ensures basic cyber hygiene
- Reassures your customers and suppliers that your business is secure
Levels of Cyber Essentials certification
There are two levels of certification that can be achieved. Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus.
Cyber Essentials
Cyber Essentials requires the organisation, with help from a practitioner, to complete a self-assessment questionnaire, with responses independently reviewed by an external certifying body.
Cyber Essentials Plus
Cyber Essentials Plus covers the same requirements as Cyber Essentials but tests of the systems are carried out by an external certifying body, using a range of tools and techniques.
Cyber Essentials FAQs
Unfortunately, a cyber-attack is extremely likely. According to Hiscox, small businesses in the UK are the target of an estimated 65,000 attempted cyber-attacks every day. Attacks can happen at any time and every business is vulnerable.
GDPR compliance is a journey not a destination. Organisations need to work continuously to ensure their data processes are secure and compliant. Cyber Essentials helps organisations protect sensitive data by ensuring they implement solid security measures, which by default helps with GDPR compliance.
Cyber Essentials certification is done annually, which will ensure organisations keep working on their cyber good practices, and as a result, their GDPR compliance.
ramsac have trained Cyber Essentials practitioners that can be bought in to undertake a gap analysis of where your network and general IT practices sit against the standard for Cyber Essentials certification.
The result of the visit will be a gap report that will help you to understand what you may need to do before applying for your certification, and of course, assistance with helping you get there as quickly as possible!
The Cyber Essentials certification has three simple steps:
1. Select a Certification Body through one of our Accreditation Bodies.
3. Verify that your IT is suitably secure and meets the standards set by Cyber Essentials – your Certification Body can help with this.
2. Complete the questionnaire – your Certification Body will provide this and verify your answers. Once you’ve passed, you will be award your Cyber Essentials certificate.
Visit the Cyber Essentials website for more information.
On successfully passing all components of the Cyber Essentials application, you will receive a branding pack including your certificate. The pack will also include a Cyber Essentials Badge that can only be displayed by organisations that have passed the relevant assessment.
The badge can be displayed by authorised organisations on:
– Websites;
– Promotional material;
– Letterheads; and
– Email signatures.
You can search by name to find organisations holding a Cyber Essentials certificate issued in the past 12 months here on the NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre) website.
The UK government recommends that you renew your certification at least annually. Re-certifying is like having an annual MOT for your cyber security controls. It gives your IT an essential annual check to protect against a wide variety of the most common cyber attacks. Speak to ramsac for advice on renewing.
Trusted Partner of the Certification Body, Indelible Data Limited.
ramsac are proud to be recognised as a Trusted Partner of the Certification Body, Indelible Data Limited. This status recognises our expertise at preparing companies ahead of Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus audits. For more information, please visit here.
How can we help you?
If your firm needs IT that delivers, we’d love to talk to you about your specific IT needs, and we’d be happy to offer a no obligation assessment of your current IT set up. Whether you are at a point of organisational change, unsure about security, or just want to sanity check your current IT arrangements, we’re here to help.