Cyber Essentials helps organisations guard against cyber threats

A new website has been launched for Cyber Essentials: a government-backed certification scheme run by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) aimed at encouraging all UK organisations to protect themselves against the most common forms of cyber attack. Developed by the UK Government in partnership with British industry, the scheme sets out a simple set of five technical controls to help keep internet connected systems and the data they hold safe. Research by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) found that nearly half (45%) of all micro/small businesses identified a cyber security breach or attack in 2017. Cyber Essentials consists of two levels of certification; - a self-assessment which offers protection against five ‘essential’ technical controls; and - Cyber Essentials Plus which ensures the same protections are in place, but verification is carried out by an independent body. Certification demonstrates that cyber security is taken seriously by an organisation, and meets the standards set out in the Cyber Essentials scheme. It can also be used by organisations looking for assurance that their supply chains are cyber secure. It is mandated that all organisations supplying to central government, which involves handling of personal information and provision of certain IT products and services, can demonstrate effective levels of cyber security of their systems, and hold a Cyber Essentials certificate. The website pulls together information from across various government websites, to help make the Cyber Essentials process as clear and simple as possible. It also includes a database of organisations that have had systems certified under the scheme in the last year, allowing customers to validate their supply chain credentials in one place.

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