Cyber Essentials is a UK government-backed certification standard that helps you create an essential security baseline to protect your business from everyday cyber threats. A lot of data breaches aren’t very complicated, and Cyber Essentials keeps you safe from these low-level attacks.
It also helps you stand out from the competition, and meet the requirements of government contracts while protecting your business from up to 80% of cyber attacks. However, we know that in business, there is always an element of cost-benefit analysis to every decision. Here, we help you break down whether Cyber Essentials is the right investment for your business.
Benefits of Cyber Essentials
- Establishes a Solid Security Baseline: Implementing Cyber Essentials can be a great way to enhance your organisation’s security posture, even if you don’t have extensive IT expertise in your team. By satisfying the technical requirements set out in Cyber Essentials, under guidance from OmniCyber Security experts, you can establish a strong security baseline. This helps you to effectively defend against basic cyber threats, providing peace of mind and protecting your business against opportunistic attacks.
- Demonstrates Your Commitment To Security: As cyber security grows in importance, businesses are looking for ways to identify and address vulnerabilities within their supply chains. One solution that is gaining traction is adding Cyber Essentials certification as a requirement on contracts. By prioritising cyber security and demonstrating your commitment with the Cyber Essentials tick, you can gain a competitive advantage and stand out from non-certified competitors. Once certified, your business is listed on the IASME database of certified entities and can prominently display the accreditation badge on various platforms, including websites, marketing materials, and tenders. This not only instils confidence in customers but also enhances your reputation as a trustworthy and dependable entity in the eyes of employees, stakeholders, and suppliers.
- Creates More Opportunities: Certification can open new revenue streams and markets for your business, especially in cases where Cyber Essentials certification is mandatory. For instance, to work with any Government organisation, you must have a Cyber Essentials accreditation. It is a non-negotiable security standard that can help you protect any sensitive data that you handle and reduce the risk of a data breach. Moreover, you can take your commitment to security one step further by obtaining the second badge, Cyber Essentials Plus, which can help you stand out and be viewed more favourably.
- Prepares You For The Next Step: If you want to demonstrate your commitment to better security, why not go beyond Cyber Essentials and consider Cyber Essentials Plus? While Cyber Essentials assessment involves answering a questionnaire, Cyber Essentials Plus requires independent verification and more rigorous system vulnerability tests. This additional level of scrutiny makes Cyber Essentials Plus more highly regarded by customers and third parties. Another option after Cyber Essentials is obtaining an ISO 27001 certification. The ISO framework is complementary to Cyber Essentials but provides even stronger protection for your information security systems and is highly reputable.
Getting Cyber Essentials Certified
Before you get certified, it’s important to know how Cyber Essentials can help protect your business.
The scheme gives a clear plan for putting in place basic cyber security controls, which can help make it less likely that an attack will succeed.
As part of the Cyber Essentials certification process, you will need to look at each area in detail to see if you meet the requirements for accreditation. It gives your business a chance to find and fix any weaknesses every year, which greatly reduces the chance that cybercrime will affect you. With OmniCyber Security, our Cyber Essentials consultancy service gives you all the help you could need with the more technical part of the process, to make sure the certification is accessible to all.
The certification process involves completing a self-assessment questionnaire and having an external vulnerability scan conducted by a certified body. Once the business meets the required standards, it will receive certification and display the Cyber Essentials badge on its website and marketing materials.
It’s important to remember that these checks only give you basic protection against the most common threats. If you need something more complete, you might want to look into what Cyber Essentials Plus can do for you.
How Much Does Cyber Essentials Cost?
Costs for Cyber Essentials certification depend on the type of certification body chosen and the size of the business.
Cyber Essentials Self-Assessment
Cyber Essentials Self-Assessment is the most affordable Cyber Essentials certification, costing as little as £300 per year. This option is suitable for businesses that are just starting to take cyber security seriously or have a limited budget. With the Cyber Essentials requirements in place, you can protect your business from up to 80% of all cyber attacks.
If you’re looking to get Cyber Essentials certification, we would strongly recommend you opt for a Cyber Essentials package that includes support from a cyber security expert. Prices for this can vary depending on the level of support you need and the size of your business but expect to pay between £500 and £1,500.
OmniCyber Security’s Cyber Essentials experts have been working with this certification and know it inside out. They are flexible and knowledgeable, and an invaluable resource for Cyber Essentials certification. See our full pricing for Cyber Essentials services here.
Cyber Essentials Plus
Cyber Essentials Plus is a more rigorous certification that involves an independent assessment of your company’s security controls by a third-party certification body. This option is suitable for businesses that want a more comprehensive assessment of their cyber security posture.
The cost of Cyber Essentials Plus can vary depending on the size and complexity of your IT infrastructure. Prices typically start at around £1,500 for a small business and can go up to £10,000 or more for larger organisations. This may seem like a significant investment, but Cyber Essentials Plus certification can give you a competitive advantage when bidding for contracts with larger organisations or government agencies that require higher levels of cyber security.
When it comes to cyber security, you can’t afford to cut corners. With Cyber Essentials Plus, you’ll get a comprehensive assessment of your company’s security controls, giving you peace of mind and a competitive edge. Find out more about Omni’s Cyber Essentials Plus services here.
Is Cyber Essentials Worth It?
The answer to this question depends on your business’s unique needs and circumstances. However, given its government backing and relatively low cost, Cyber Essentials is widely regarded as a sound investment for businesses. Not only does it help protect your company against the most common cyber threats, but it also demonstrates to your clients, partners, and stakeholders that you take cyber security seriously. This can improve your company’s reputation and give you a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Lower insurance rates and more business opportunities could quickly make up for the cost of getting certified.
Even if you don’t pay it back through savings though, Cyber Essentials should be part of your ongoing costs. Protecting yourself from harm before it happens will always cost much less than trying to get your data or systems back after something bad has happened.
Find out more about getting Cyber Essentials certified with Omni, and start protecting your business better. You can also contact our expert team to discuss how else we can help you to achieve your cyber security goals.
