Cyber Essentials

Gaining either of the Cyber Essentials certifications will enable you to confirm to clients and prospects that you have invested in your cyber security in order to protect your business from cyber-crime and can demonstrate that your business is cyber secure. 

The baseline Cyber Essentials certifications consist of a self-assessment against five basic security controls (firewalls, secure configuration, user access control, malware protection and patch management) and the most common cyber-attacks businesses experience. After the self-assessment, a qualified assessor verifies the assessment.  

Threats such as phishing, ransomware and malware are on the rise, especially with the changes the business workspace has gone through since 2019. Cyber Essentials not only shows customers and potential customers that you are cyber secure, but it also lowers your chances of being targeted by, or fall victim to cyber-crime.  

Sweethaven Business Services is part of the inTEC GROUP. The inTEC GROUP is a certification body for Cyber Essentials.

Why Should Your Business Get Cyber Essentials certifications?

Gaining either of the Cyber Essentials certifications not only boosts your company’s reputation and reassures existing customers that you are doing all you can to be cyber secure, but it also provides confidence in your data security protocols to prospects and clients.  

Displaying the Cyber Essentials certifications on your website and collateral is a key security benefit that you can use to attract and secure new business. Your prospects will see your dedication to proven cyber hygiene and processes as a huge benefit.  

Our latest blog further explains these benefits: Gain your Cyber Essentials Accreditation and Reap the Rewards

An added advantage is that the NCSC publicly displays your Cyber Essentials certifications which is a great reference tool for your business. The NCSC also recently published a review on how Cyber Essentials certification has influenced businesses to act. 

Here are the key findings:

The vast majority of certified organisations surveyed (93%) say they are confident they are protected against common, internet-based cyber-attacks.

Most certified organisations surveyed (61%) claim they are more likely to choose suppliers with Cyber Essentials or Cyber Essentials plus. For the full report, click here. 

Cyber Essentials certifications also enable you to view what you’re currently doing right, and what you’re currently doing wrong from a cyber-security perspective. This information is invaluable for those looking to confirm that they’re cyber secure. In many cases, those who have a Cyber Essentials accreditation can benefit from opportunities of working with the UK government, and those with Cyber Essentials Plus can also work with the MOD (Ministry of Defence). 

Continuity Central say that “Ransomware will continue to expand its reach. Ransomware attacks impacted a diverse array of industries in 2021, including healthcare organizations, technology companies and automotive manufacturers. Like cyberterrorist events, ransomware attacks often attract heavy press coverage, which can further encourage bad actors seeking publicity. DigiCert predicts that ransomware attacks will continue to escalate, especially as the use of cryptocurrency expands — and makes ransom payments harder to trace outside the banking system.” – You can Read the full article here.  

Statements like this back what many believe, which is that Cyber-crime is going to continue to grow and impact more and more businesses. Cyber-criminals are increasingly becoming more sophisticated, and cyber-attacks can often slip through unguarded defences and can be missed by untrained members of staff. Gaining either of the Cyber Essentials certifications will help reduce the potential impact of threats such as ransomware.