Attaining cyber essentials plus: Secured mail
Recently, one of our IT clients Secured Mail, announced that they had successfully attained their Cyber Essentials Plus certification with the help from Fact3.
Our IT team offered continued support and ensured all systems were configured to the exacting Cyber Essentials Plus standards so that when Secured Mail were assessed by an authorised Cyber Essentials Plus auditor they passed first time.
“Cyber Essentials is a Government-backed, industry-supported scheme to help organisations protect themselves against common online threats”
Cyber essentials vs cyber essentials plus.
Cyber essentials and cyber essentials plus is described as a cyber security starting point for all SMEs. Cyber-crime can cost businesses a lot of money with an annualised figure of £4.1 Million per uk business, with the impact being much higher on smaller organisations.
The scheme provides 5 security controls which is said to be able to prevent around 80% of cyber-attacks. The controls provide a basic level of protection that businesses need to implement in order to protect themselves from the majority of cyber-attacks which ultimately results in more time being spent focusing on how to grow the business.
Cyber essentials is a DIY version which an organisation completes themselves, where cyber essentials plus system requirements are carried out by an external certifying body using tools and techniques which may not be accessible for the DIY version. Having checks done by an independent auditor will be reassurance in knowing that the individual is confident in what they are doing and that your security systems are securely in place.
What are the benefits of cyber essentials plus?
Not only is a business protected against 80% of cyber-attacks, the certificate also reduces insurance premiums for organisations. The cyber essentials plus certificate is also known to increase business due to customers being reassured that your business takes cyber security seriously.
Before your cyber essentials plus assessment, an independent auditor will also carry out a security vulnerability scan of your businesses it infrastructure identifying critical vulnerabilities which leaves the door open for hackers. The benefits of cyber essentials plus include the process being more rigorous meaning the certification is of higher value than the standard cyber essentials process.
What do Fact3 say?
Farhan Khalid, Head of Fact3 IT says:
“The prestigious cyber essentials plus accreditation not only enhances a business’s it security and reputation, it provides peace of mind and builds trust with customers and suppliers alike.
Cyber essentials plus distinguishes businesses from their less security-conscious competitors, whilst reducing insurance premiums as well as being a prerequisite for any business wishing to bid for government contracts.”
How to become certified
There are 3 steps to certification of cyber essentials plus.
Select a certification body
Verify that your it is suitably secure and meets the standards set by cyber essentials (we can help with this!)
Complete the questionnaire, independent audit and vulnerability scanning
Helping attain achievements like these are just one of the many things our it team can do for a business. From ongoing daily support to more in depth project work, the team can work alongside you and your business to provide a service perfectly suited.
If you would like help with attaining cyber essentials plus or if you have any general it enquiries please contact Fact3 Head of IT, Farhan.khalid@fact3.co.uk
