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Cyber Essentials is like a digital security seal of approval for businesses. It’s a set of basic safety rules that you should follow to protect your company’s computer systems from bad people who might try to steal or damage your information. It’s like locking your doors and windows to keep burglars out of your home. When you get Cyber Essentials certified, it means you’ve taken important steps to guard your computer systems and data. This can help you avoid costly and frustrating problems caused by cyberattacks. It’s a bit like wearing a seatbelt in a car – it’s a small action that can make a big difference in keeping you safe.
Cyber Essentials certification enables businesses of all shapes and sizes to ensure their company is following the best IT security practices.
With security certification, clients and partners alike can see that your business is suitably protected from unwanted attention from hackers.
SMEs often can’t afford to invest in the same high level of security that big companies can, and hackers know this, often making smaller businesses more vulnerable.
Cyber Essentials is a scheme created by the UK Government in June 2014 with the primary aim of encouraging businesses of all sizes to review their IT security and adopt best practices quickly and cost-effectively.
Essentially, it’s a box-ticking exercise, but by ticking the boxes, you are ensuring your organisation has the most fundamental IT security controls in place. It’s the very basic elements of security that are often neglected, and most regularly taken advantage of if left alone.
Even if you do maintain an internal IT team, certifying with Cyber Essentials proves to your customers, partners and suppliers that you have top-notch cyber security. It’s a nationally recognised standard for best practice and shows the world you take this seriously.
It’s almost impossible now to find an organisation that hasn’t had some kind of IT security incident. And even if you haven’t, it is still important to get Cyber Essentials. You could go for years without a break-in at home, even if you left your house unlocked, but it’s not something you’d do!
First, head over to the IASME website to book your self-assessment. You then work with them to verify that you meet the standards set by Cyber Essentials. Finally, you complete the questionnaire, have your answers verified and you’re done!
If you outsource your IT to a service provider like Preventa, they will be able to take your organisation through the process from start to finish. Otherwise, you would need your internal IT staff to manage this process. We work with both internal IT teams and organisational executives alike.
Our support customers have access to the most in-depth cyber security services and solutions on the market, including our real-time monitoring security service, Cloud Security. This is the perfect security service for SMEs who have switched from a traditional on-site server to Microsoft’s online platform.