Is Cyber Essentials Worth It?

For organisations and businesses across Wales and the UK who are looking for an affordable solution to improve their cyber resilience, Cyber Essentials is the perfect first step.

What is Cyber Essentials?

Cyber Essentials is the Government backed scheme created as a cost-efficient solution to strengthening the cyber security of businesses. As one of the first Cyber Essentials accredited bodies in Wales, PureCyber are in the perfect position to provide you with ethical and understandable support to help you achieve the Cyber Essentials or Cyber Essentials Plus Accreditation.

Cyber Essentials allows organisations to take a self-assessment to determine their current cyber security level. Starting from £300, it is a great way for businesses to introduce cyber security best practice to strengthen their resilience and raise awareness across the organisation. It is important to recognise that the risk applies to businesses of all sizes and sectors and that vulnerability to basic attacks can mark you out as a target for more sophisticated attacks. The PureCyber expert team will support you through the process and question set, and provide the guidance you need to remediate any issues to attain the accreditation.

Cyber Essentials Plus can be undertaken within three months of successfully completing Cyber Essentials and involves a hands-on technical assessment. Our governance and risk experts at PureCyber will help you to identify potential weaknesses and vulnerabilities, review your technical controls and user awareness capabilities throughout the accreditation process.

PureCyber has been IASME certified since 2015, making us one of the longest standing accredited IASME certification bodies in Wales providing ethical and expert advice and guidance to businesses who wish to improve their cyber security.

Is Cyber Essentials a legal requirement?

UK government contracts legally require organisations to be Cyber Essentials certified if the contract involves sensitive personal information. This includes those in Wales.

Getting certified is the best way to reassure your clients, business partners, staff and customers that their information is safe, and to build your cyber resilience. Successful cyber-attacks can have a catastrophic effect on business continuity, damage your reputation and cost money. Investing in improving your cyber security allows you manage potential risk and build your resilience to attack.

The Benefits of Cyber Essentials

Achieving Cyber Essentials Plus can also help you attract new clients and in turn, grow your business. According to The Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2022, only 6% of UK businesses have Cyber Essentials certification and just 1% have Cyber Essentials Plus. Many businesses are missing out on the benefits of achieving and displaying the Cyber Essentials kitemark.

With more workers in Wales adapting to hybrid working, as across the UK and beyond, the need for Welsh organisations to build their cyber resilience is greater than ever. In 2020, as outlined in their Remote Working Policy, The Welsh Government set a goal to have 30% of the Welsh workforce working at or near to home. In fact, according to The Office for National Statistics, 44.3% of staff are now hybrid working in Wales, slightly above the UK average of 42.7%. Unfortunately, hybrid working comes with several risks. These include; unauthorized access, mobile attacks, unsecure cloud networks and a disconnected or cyber complacent workforce, with reduced user awareness of cyber security threats. With Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus, you can keep your hybrid workers safe by identifying vulnerabilities in your system, reviewing your existing cyber security policies and implementing good practices.

Getting cyber essentials certified is also a cost effective and quick way for Welsh businesses to implement simple but effective controls to mitigate risk, strengthen supply chains and demonstrate to potential partners and clients that they take cyber security seriously. Certification can open new market opportunities and the opportunity to be more competitive in your industry, by introducing new audiences to showcase your business to.

If you want to reduce your insurance premiums, Cyber Essentials is also a great way to help achieve this. Any business with an annual turnover under 20 million will receive free cyber insurance through IASME as part of their accreditation. This cover provides up to £25,000 worth of liability.

Let’s work together to make Wales a secure place for businesses to thrive and lead the UK on cyber essentials.

Find more information on our Cyber Essentials Services page or to book a call to discuss, please email info@purecyber.com or complete the Contact Us form.