The safeguards every business should have in place
Most successful attacks exploit the basics: an unpatched laptop, a reused password, an admin account nobody locked down. Get these right and you've shut the door on the majority of threats.
The Cyber Essentials five, done properly
These are the government-backed Cyber Essentials controls. They're the baseline for most supply chains, including defence.
Firewalls
Boundary protection on every network and device, configured, not left on defaults.
Secure configuration
Unnecessary software and accounts removed, default passwords changed.
User access control
Admin rights only where needed, and accounts removed when people leave.
Malware protection
Modern endpoint detection on every device, centrally managed.
Security update management
Critical and high-risk patches applied within 14 days, automatically.
Then the essentials beyond the essentials
- Multi-factor authentication on every account, phishing-resistant for admins
- Backups kept separately from Microsoft 365, and tested
- Monthly phishing simulations and short training
- A password manager instead of spreadsheets and sticky notes
- Email filtering and DNS filtering to stop bad links
- A written, rehearsed incident response plan
Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus
We hold Cyber Essentials Plus and IASME Cyber Assurance ourselves, so we know exactly what assessors look for. We'll get your controls in place, prepare the evidence, and take you through certification.
Then we keep you there. Certificates renew annually, and we track your renewal date so it never catches you out.
How certification works with us
Gap review
We check your setup against the 5 controls and tell you exactly what would fail.
Fix
Our engineers close the gaps, or hand your team a list if you'd rather do it yourselves.
Assess
You complete the Cyber Essentials questionnaire with our help and our assessors mark it.
Plus
For Cyber Essentials Plus, our assessors test a sample of your devices and cloud accounts.
Certify
Certificate issued, insurance included where eligible, and a renewal date in the diary.
Cyber Essentials questions
How long does Cyber Essentials last?
What's actually in scope?
What happens if we fail?
Do we need Cyber Essentials to get DCC?
Talk to a person who knows IT, not a script.
Tell us what's frustrating you about your IT or security. We'll give you an honest view of what we'd change, whether or not you work with us.