Cybersecurity is a concern for businesses of all sizes, but small businesses are particularly vulnerable to cyberattacks. With limited resources and expertise, small businesses often struggle to properly protect themselves against the ever-evolving threat of cybercrime. The UK government has a cybersecurity standard called Cyber Essentials. It’s aimed at businesses of all sizes, but it’s particularly effective for small businesses without a dedicated cybersecurity team to protect their digital network.
What is Cyber Essentials?
It’s a government-backed standard established to get businesses up to a basic standard of cybersecurity. The standard covers five key areas of cybersecurity: boundary firewalls and internet gateways, secure configuration, access control, malware protection, and patch management. To achieve Cyber Essentials certification, businesses must demonstrate that they have implemented these security measures. When a business achieves the certification, it can protect itself from low-level cyberattacks, which can be up to 80% of all cyberattacks.
Why is Cyber Essentials important for small businesses?
Protects against cyberattacks
Cyberattacks are a major threat to small businesses, and they can cause serious damage to a company’s reputation and finances. Cyber Essentials provides a baseline of cybersecurity measures that can help small businesses protect themselves against the most common cyberattacks. By implementing these measures, small businesses can reduce their risk of falling victim to a cyberattack and ensure that their sensitive data and systems are secure.
Increases credibility and confidence
Achieving the Cyber Essentials certification shows customers, suppliers, and partners that your small business takes cybersecurity seriously. This can help build trust and increase confidence in the business, which can positively impact its reputation and bottom line.
Meets industry and government standards
Cyber Essentials is a widely recognised standard, and many companies across industries making the certification a requirement for doing business, and a Cyber Essentials certification is compulsory for any business hoping to win a UK government contract. By achieving Cyber Essentials certification, small businesses can demonstrate their commitment to cybersecurity and meet the requirements of these organizations.
Improves efficiency and cost-effectiveness
Investing in Cyber Essentials can help small businesses improve their cybersecurity posture, which can result in improved efficiency and cost-effectiveness. By implementing the measures required for certification, small businesses can streamline their cybersecurity processes and reduce the risk of downtime and data breaches.
Cyber Essentials is a must-have for small businesses in today’s digital world. The standard provides a baseline of cybersecurity measures that can help small businesses protect themselves against cyberattacks, increase credibility and confidence, meet industry and government standards, and improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness. If you’re a small business owner, don’t wait – invest in Cyber Essentials today and stay safe in the digital world.
OmniCyber Security are experts in the Cyber Essentials process, and we offer support at every stage of the assessment. Contact our team today to talk about how Cyber Essentials can benefit your business.
