Cyber Essentials certified
Cyber Essentials is the UK Government-backed cybersecurity certification, owned by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and assessed by IASME. It covers five technical controls — boundary firewalls, secure configuration, user access control, malware protection and patch management — designed to block the volume attacks (commodity malware, phishing, ransomware) that account for the bulk of UK SME incidents.
- Boundary firewalls and internet gateways configured to block unsolicited traffic
- Secure configuration — default passwords removed, unnecessary services disabled
- User access control — least-privilege, MFA on admin accounts, leavers process
- Malware protection — endpoint protection, application whitelisting where appropriate
- Patch management — security updates applied within 14 days of release for high/critical vulnerabilities
Why this matters
on a real job.
Cyber Essentials is a mandatory requirement for most central government contracts since 2014, and increasingly a baseline expectation for NHS Trusts, councils and large commercial buyers. For a fire & security contractor handling building access data, CCTV recordings and resident contact details, it's the published proof that we hold supplier data to a recognised standard.