Cyber Essentials
Cyber Essentials is a powerful accreditation scheme supported by the government that can help you defend your organisation, regardless of its size, from the majority of typical cyberattacks. Cyber Essentials evaluates every device of your organisation’s IT system which has an internet connection against these five baseline criteria:
- Internet gateways and boundary firewalls
- Malware defence
- Patch control
- Secure configuration
- Access management
Obtaining certification can help you attract new clients and boost your chances of winning larger contracts since Cyber Essentials certification is now required, all while proving that the integrity of customer data is vital to you.
Cyber Essentials Plus
The prerequisites for Cyber Essentials Plus are identical to those for Cyber Essentials; the crucial distinction is that in order to confirm that you do, in fact, have the 5 technical security measures in place, Cyber Essentials Plus mandates an outside evaluation of your security controls. A vulnerability scan is part of the Cyber Essentials assessment which will reveal unpatched or unsupported software, open ports, improper firewall settings, etc.Because of this, obtaining the Cyber Essentials Plus certification may be challenging without the proper training and experience. As a result, Cyber Essentials Plus is now a far more respected certification that is appropriate for both small and large enterprises wishing to significantly enhance their current cybersecurity measures.
What is the Difference Between Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus?
Although the two certifications are comparable, they do differ significantly due to the third-party evaluation required for Cyber Essentials Plus. There are a number of advantages to upgrading to the Cyber Essentials Plus certification, depending on your motivation for earning the certification. The requirement for the certification when applying for government contracts, larger tenders, has become standard practice.Finally, whichever certification you earn will be made public on the government website. It gives customers, partners, and investors peace of mind and will be updated right away if a business obtains a new level of certification.
Which is right for me?
If anything, the fact that Cyber Essentials Plus includes real verification from security experts is what is causing it to quickly become the standard. Most public sector contracts mandate it, and organisations in the commercial sector are increasingly requesting Cyber Essentials Plus from their suppliers. The Financial Conduct Authority and the Law Society are two professional organisations within the industries that actively support and encourage the certification. It is anticipated that this will improve to Plus for those who merely require the minimum quality. Therefore, if funds are available, achieving the Plus standard makes the most sense in order to take advantage of business prospects, keep one step ahead of competition, and have your security levels officially verified.
