Cyber Essentials vs Cyber Essentials Plus
Make 2024 the year you prioritise your business cyber security through accreditation.
Make 2024 the year you prioritise your business cyber security through accreditation.
Make 2024 the year you prioritise your business cyber security through accreditation.
Cyber Essentials
Cyber Essentials Plus
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The UK government revealed that approximately 50% of UK businesses suffered a cyber attack or security breach in the last 12 months, showing a large scale increase from 39% in the previous year. The numbers are much higher for medium businesses (70%) and large businesses (74%).
Despite the growing number of cyber attacks, less businesses have sought information and external guidance on how to combat cyber crime.
Don’t allow your business to become another statistic! You should be taking a proactive, multi-layered approach to tightening up your online security. You can do this by obtaining Cyber Essentials certification, which shows you meet different standards of cyber security.
Many companies now opt for cyber insurance to protect them from the wide array of cyber threats. Cyber Essentials certification is a scheme offering an affordable and effective level of assurance for all businesses. It comes in two levels: Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials PLUS. The programme sets out 5 key technical controls to help businesses with cyber protection which, when implemented, will protect you against the most common cyber threats. In fact, the cyber security certification aims to reduce an organisations’ risk of attack from internet-borne threats by around 80%. shows that you take the necessary precautions against these threats to ensure your business and its clients are protected.
To achieve the basic Cyber Essentials accreditation, you need to demonstrate that your business has implemented the five technical controls and, that you are working proactively to stop any risk of a breach.
The 5 security controls are:
We can help you pass Cyber Essentials and will work with you to ensure you pass.
You may think that you are simply too busy to gain another certification for your business. However, doing so can have several benefits including:
Having this certification can act as a green flag for prospective clients or suppliers, as they will be able to see the duty of care you take with all aspects of your business.
When they will be supplying you with personal or financial information, it can be reassuring for them to know that you take confidentiality and safeguarding seriously.
While you would self-certify for standard Cyber Essentials certification, more in-depth audits are required for you to gain Cyber Essentials Plus. This means that you would need to prove each security measure you have in place.
An independent, external audit of your systems would need to take place. This is often undertaken by an assessor, often from the certification body you use for Cyber Essentials. Not all the information may need to be audited. Generally, the assessor may ask for a random sample of about 10% of your systems. This may be done either on-site or remotely. Any assessor you use would need to be IASME licenced, which can be found on their website.
These assessors would look for several criteria, including:
While Cyber Essentials Plus can be undertaken by any business, regardless of size, it may benefit some more than others. In particular, those businesses that are most frequently targeted by cyber criminals may want to deploy greater security measures. Those in the property, pharmaceutical, healthcare, travel, and leisure industries may be more likely to be targeted than their counterparts.
Any business, regardless of industry can still be at risk of attempts, or even successful attacks, especially if there are no adequate cyber security measures in place.
Therefore, you should consider how much responsibility you, as a business owner, will take in the fight against cyber-crime, and how committed you are to data and device security. This can help you to figure out if Cyber Essentials Plus is something you are willing to invest in.
Completing your Cyber Essentials or Cyber Essentials Plus certification can seem quite daunting, especially if this is not something you have done before. As experts in cyber security, Syn-Star can help to make this process significantly easier.
Book a meeting today to discuss your cyber security needs. Gain the power to protect your business from hackers and malware while instilling courage and trust in your clients.
Agnes Molnar
Agnes is Syn-Star’s expert content writer, she has Master’s degree in English Literature that provides a strong foundation in writing and critical thinking of everything she does.
Qualifications: Masters in English Literature
In-house training: HubSpot SEO, WordPress Training.
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Agnes Molnar
Agnes is Syn-Star’s expert content writer, she has Master’s degree in English Literature that provides a strong foundation in writing and critical thinking of everything she does.
Qualifications: Masters in English Literature
In-house training: HubSpot SEO, WordPress Training.
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