The ever growing and fast moving range of cyber threats that pose risks to your organisations data, systems and information security poses challenges that many businesses have not seen before, and it is not a challenge for the faint hearted. 

One way that many organisations in the UK ensure that they are taking the basic steps towards securing themselves is to get Cyber Essentials Certification.  Cyber Essentials is a Government backed scheme that provides organisations with a certification that demonstrates they meet a specific set of requirements which help to protect them and their customers or users from some of the most common cyber threats in today’s increasingly digitalised world.

As the way that we work has changed so much in the last 2 years the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and IASME have reviewed and redeveloped the Cyber Essentials framework to ensure that it is aligned with the most up to date threats.  Remote working and collaboration through the Cloud and online tools are now an everyday part of what we do, and it’s important to ensure that organisations seeking Cyber Essentials have the necessary controls in place for these aspects.

NCSC state that “the update includes revisions to the use of cloud services, as well as home working, multi-factor authentication, password management, security updates and more”, going on to say that “these updates will help organisations maintain their basic cyber hygiene, providing reassurance for managers, staff and customers”.

Ensuring that your business is best protected from the most common cyber threats is a core aspect of going through the Cyber Essentials process, and also can have added benefits of building awareness & skills across your workforce, giving business leaders more confidence.  It also demonstrates to those outside of your organisation that you are committed to protecting not only yourself but your clients & customers.

If you are considering working through the Cyber Essentials certification you may benefit from working through this set of questions that NCSC & IASME have put together.

If you would like to know more about the work of Cyber East take a look at what our membership offers.