IMPORTANCE OF CYBER ESSENTIALS IN 2020

Before discussing in detail the importance of “Cyber Essentials,” let's understand what is Cyber Essentials. 

What Is Cyber Essentials? 

Cyber Essentials is an essential document in the form of a certificate brought up by the United Kingdom government with generous support from the industrial sector. There were numerous cases of cyber crimes reported, and all of them could've been tackled single-handedly through cyber filtration or, in other words,” Cyber Hygiene.” This certificate became the need of the hour, and hence this certificate was created by the British government to guarantee complete business security. There are five different pipelines to this certificate, which means if you want to get your hands on the Cyber Essentials certificate, your business needs to meet the following five requirements: 

• Firewalls

• Secure Configuration

• User Access Controls

• Patch Management 

• Malware Management 

Why Cyber Essentials Is a Must-Have Certificate?

The British government introduced the Cyber Essentials certificate back in 2014, and since then, it has earned great importance in regularizing a business file and documentation. The certificate is used in some of the tender documents. 

Getting a Cyber Essentials certificate checks out all the boxes; not only it protects your business from cyber crimes and malware, but it also makes your business verified and trustworthy. When you are looking forward to getting a business contract from the government, it is necessary to have a Cyber Essentials certificate. The government has five accreditation bodies; each has several certifications under it. Each of the five bodies has its process and procedures for going through Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus certificate. 

Revision By NCSC In 2019: 

In 2019, NCSC(National Cyber Security Center)  planned to pipeline the process of achieving accreditation, making it more classified and making one body responsible for issuing the certificates, IASME. IASME was one of the five bodies that won the tender to manage the Cyber Essentials program in the UK. 

Cyber Essentials – An Essential in 2020: 

With the COVID-19 pandemic hitting the globe and affecting businesses, Cyber Essentials turned out to be one of the essential documents since people couldn't operate their business physically due to countrywide lockdown and isolation. As more people moved their businesses online, this certificate became a necessity for making the UK one of the safest online marketplaces. The certificate has a 12-month validity and is cost-friendly. 

CyberSmart: 

IASME’s collaboration with CyberSmart will enable business owners to get the certificate more conveniently. There will be regular questionnaires, renewals and personal data verifications to keep the standards maintained. During the last year, over 16,000 corporations got certified, and the stats are going up. Cyber Essential has grown and covered a more comprehensive set of benefits. The certificate assured complete security and has become a tool to retain and flourish businesses and encouraging more entrepreneurs to grow and expand. Although it is a bit hard to achieve this certificate, it is worth getting one; it promises to enhance cyber defense. Annual certification helps your business stay up to date against modern-day cyber threats and is considered another way to co-operate with the government in order to eradicate cyber threats.