Stephensons is today announcing its accreditation by the government-backed Cyber Essentials scheme.
The scheme has been developed in partnership with the Information Assurance for Small and Medium Enterprises consortium (IASME) and the Information Security Forum (ISF). It provides clear guidance on the basic safety measures all organisations should use to mitigate the risk of common cyber attacks.
The Cyber Essentials certification allows businesses to demonstrate to customers, investors, insurers and others bodies that they have taken essential precautions to protect themselves against prevalent internet threats. Some insurance providers offer preferential insurance rates to organisations which hold a Cyber Essentials badge.
The accreditation is currently necessary for businesses bidding for government contracts which are deemed to be high risk.
Luke Axon, Head of Information Technology at Stephensons, said: “Our client data is our most valuable asset and we need to do our utmost to protect it. We have already seen government organisations request new suppliers to be Cyber Essentials accredited and anticipate that the local government may soon follow suit”.
The Cyber Essentials Scheme was officially launched 6th June 2014. Organisations can apply to be awarded either the Cyber Essentials or Cyber Essentials Plus badge, depending on their requirements.
Businesses already adopting cyber standards such as ISO27001 will find that Cyber Essentials maps to their existing systems, but an additional assessment for ISO27001-compliant organisations will still be necessary to verify conformity to Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus.