The benefits of obtaining Cyber Essentials

28 Nov, 2017

In 2013, the UK government began to encourage organisations to consider if they were managing their cyber risks effectively. They did this through a number of initiatives which began to gain traction. However vulnerabilities were still being identified through organisations not applying a number of security controls. The government decided that the best approach to take would be to introduce an organisational standard for cyber security, allowing businesses to have greater confidence in their ability to reduce the risk posed by cyber attacks. From this, the Cyber Essentials scheme was formalised.

As a holder of Cyber Essentials ourselves, we know the essential benefits of proving to our customer base that we have strong cyber security. The Cyber Essentials scheme provides businesses with five security controls that can prevent “around 80% of cyber attacks”, according to the UK government. These controls provide any business with a basic level of protection, which in turn allows you to be protected from the vast majority of attacks. Achieving business growth needs focus on the core business objectives, which this preparedness allows. However by properly implementing cyber security within your company, you can see the added advantages of driving business efficiency throughout your organisation, saving money and improving productivity.

The demonstration of commitment to protecting yours and your customers’ data is a move that many businesses are making to prove to their customers that they are taking measures to keep their data secure. With the number of recent scares involving personal data, customers are looking for cyber aware providers now more than ever. By proving that you have the necessary controls in place you are gaining an edge over competitors and putting your customers at ease. This is a similar situation with securing new business for your company. Cyber Essentials can help you to boost your reputation and give you a greater chance of winning contracts.

A hot topic over the next few months, GDPR gives businesses the perfect opportunity to seek out Cyber Essentials. Implementing the controls within Cyber Essentials also helps you to address other compliance requirements in GDPR, allowing you to ensure cyber security and compliance. If you are interested in learning more about GDPR, we have a range of informative articles available here: https://www.isoqsltd.com/latest-news/

The ISO 27001 Information Security management standard works hand in hand with Cyber Essentials. ISO 27001 is seen as a much more comprehensive standard, due to it covering a broad range of information security elements, whilst Cyber Essentials focuses on the cyber element. However, a number of businesses seek out certification for both as evidence that they are running a robust information security management system.

For more information on ISO 27001 Information Security, please see our webpage here: https://www.isoqsltd.com/iso-certification/iso-27001-information-security-management-certification/