Cyber Essentials is a UK government-backed certification scheme designed to help organisations of all sizes (but especially SMEs) protect themselves from the most common types of cyber attacks. Like ISO 27001, it’s a governance framework which allows you to base your Cybersecurity program on expert-approved best practices and earn a certification to prove you’re taking security seriously. Unlike 27001, however, Cyber Essentials has been designed to be easy to implement and can typically be deployed much more quickly.
Cyber Essentials sets out a baseline of key security controls — like secure configuration, access management, and patching — that every business should have in place. Once you’ve adopted the needed controls, certification is quick, easy and inexpensive. Getting certified shows that you’re serious about protecting your data, your customers, and your reputation. It’s simple, practical, and increasingly expected by clients, insurers, and regulators.
We offer tailored support to help you understand, achieve, and maintain Cyber Essentials certification, whether you’re applying for the first time or renewing your credentials.
Why Cyber Essentials Matters
Cyber Essentials is a Government-backed framework which allows businesses to demonstrate that they have a minimum baseline of cybersecurity. It’s recommended for every business, but especially important if you:
- Handle sensitive data
- Work with public sector contracts
- Want to reduce your cyber insurance premiums
- Need a practical, structured approach to improve your cyber hygiene
💡 More then 60% of small businesses experience a cyber attack every year. Most could have been prevented with the basics.
Benefits of Certification
Cyber Essentials is more than just a badge - earning your certificate means benefiting from a range of practical outcomes:
- ✅ Protect against common threats like phishing, ransomware, and malware
- ✅ Reassure clients and customers that you’re taking cybersecurity seriously
- ✅ Meet contractual and legal obligations, especially in regulated industries
- ✅ Win more business — many tenders require Cyber Essentials as a minimum
- ✅ Improve internal IT practices with structured, well-defined controls
- ✅ Lower cyber insurance premiums (many insurers require or reward it)
Free Cyber Liability Insurance
In addition to the above, Cyber Essentials certification includes automatic free cyber liability insurance for any UK organisation that certifies their whole organisation and has less than £20m annual turnover. The presence of cyber insurance will provide vital incident response services and cover your costs should you suffer an attack. The insurance provided with certification provides £25,000 of indemnity coverage, which is highly valuable to small and medium businesses.
How We Help
Although Cyber Essentials is much more straightforward than ISO 270001, it can still feel like a major undertaking without specialist knowledge. That’s where we can help, but we don’t just help you tick boxes — we help you understand and implement real security improvements.
Our Cyber Essentials support includes:
Gap Analysis
We start by reviewing your current setup to identify what already meets the standard and what needs attention.
Remediation Support
Where gaps exist, we help you implement the required changes — from secure configuration to user access controls and patch management.
Policy & Documentation Templates
We provide clear, customisable policy templates that meet certification requirements without unnecessary complexity.
Technical Advice
Need help configuring firewalls, setting up MFA, or hardening user accounts? We provide hands-on support and clear guidance throughout.
Pre-Assessment Checks
We simulate the certification process so you’re fully prepared and confident before submitting.
Certification Submission
We’ll guide you through the application process with a registered Certification Body and support you until your certification is complete.
Ready to Get Started?
Book a free initial chat and let’s talk about where you are, where you want to be, and how we can help you get there — securely.
Please get in touch to discuss. We’re happy to answer any questions you may have.
