Cyber Essentials

What is Cyber Essentials?

Cyber Essentials is a UK Government accreditation for Cyber Security aimed at all businesses. Obtaining Cyber Essentials means completing a questionnaire and submitting it for assessment to any qualified assessor – generally for a standard cost of £300 + VAT. It is important to note that there is no guarantee of passing.

Benefits include;

  • Improved Cyber Security up to a good basic standard – meaning lower risk of Ransomware, Spear-phishing, Cyber-fraud, etc.
  • Allows you to bid for UK Government contracts involving handling personal data
  • A widely recognised ‘badge’ to provide reassurance to customers and partners
  • Helps you prepare for GDPR, the new Data Privacy Regulation which will bring large fines for personal data breaches

There are a number of different ways of working with Crossword to obtain Cyber Essentials described below;

Cyber Essentials Online

Our Cyber Security Risk Assessment tool for SMEs, Rizikon, allows organisations to apply for Cyber Essentials online.

The built-in questionnaire first assesses automatically how close the organisation id to qualifying for the standard – and provides a gap analysis and action plan to get up to the required level.

Once the system indicates a PASS is realistic, the organisation pays the £300 + VAT application fee and goes through the submission process. The data is all passed to IASME who assign an Assessor. The PASS or FAIL is normally communicated within a couple of days.

We recommend this approach for Organisations very confident in their ability to pass Cyber Essentials and some experience of Compliance applications. There is no guarantee of passing.

Find out more about this Service, including pricing here

Rizikon Pricing

Cyber Essentials Assist

For Organisations who need Cyber Essentials and want to reduce the risk of a FAIL from the Assessor, we have an assisted service. Our Consultants will review the application prior to submission and recommend changes based on our experience of reviewing many applications – and obtaining the accreditation.

While a PASS is not certain, our track record is very good and the chances of passing are significantly improved.

Find out more about this Service, including pricing here

Rizikon Pricing