Cyber-crime comes in many forms, with the most prevalent threats coming from ransomware, intentional denial of service, unauthorised access to files or data (including online takeovers of websites, social media, and email accounts), and phishing attacks. At least 11% of businesses and 8% of charities have fallen victim to at least one cyber-crime incident in the last 12 months. Of the businesses that have identified cyber-crime in the last 12 months, nearly half of them experienced three or more incidents. It is estimated that UK businesses experienced approximately 2.39 million cyber-crimes of all types in the last twelve months. The average cost of all cybercrimes (excluding phishing attacks) experienced by UK businesses in the last twelve months is £15,300. What is Cyber Essentials? The Cyber Essentials certification scheme is a simple yet effective, Government backed framework that will help protect your organisation against a range of the most common internet based cyber-attacks. It is backed by industry, including the Federation of Small Businesses, the CBI and a number of insurance organisations which are offering incentives for businesses. From the small-scale start-up to established and growing organisations, the scheme will help you reduce the impact of such threats as phishing attacks, malware, ransomware, password guessing, and network attacks. Cyber Essentials focuses on five technical control areas which are easy to implement for most organisations and designed to guard against these common threats. These technical control areas are:
- Firewalls
- Security configuration
- Security update management
- User access control
- Malware protection
Cyber Essentials Plus requires everything you do for Cyber Essentials, with an extra layer of assurance provided by a technical assessment of your systems carried out by a cybersecurity assessor. This audit verifies that your controls are functioning effectively which adds credibility to your security posture and demonstrates a more robust security commitment to your clients and partners. How can Cyber Essentials help your business? Cyber Essentials accreditation will improve your security processes, protecting your organisation against the most common security threats and reducing your risk of regulatory non-compliance. Certification demonstrates your commitment to security, with customers being increasingly concerned about data breaches. Cyber Essentials alleviates some of that concern by showcasing basic security measures are in place. Overall, Cyber Essentials acts as a visible symbol of your commitment to data security. This helps to establish trust with your business partners, assuring them that their information is safeguarded when they choose to do business with you. How can CyberScale help you gain Cyber Essentials certification? With the benefit of our experienced consultants’ expert knowledge, CyberScale can offer you the guidance and support you need to complete your assessment and pass first time. To find out more about the different levels of Cyber Essentials, and CyberScale’s approach to helping our clients achieve certification, get in touch here.