News & Insights

Cyber Essentials for Small Businesses

7 March 2023Consultancy, Cyber Essentials
Cyber Essentials logo

Cyber Essentials for Small Businesses?

Small businesses are the backbone of economies all around the world. They are responsible for creating jobs, driving innovation, and boosting local communities. However, they also face serious challenges when it comes to protecting their operations from cyber threats. That’s where Cyber Essentials comes in. In this blog post, we’ll explore the importance of Cyber Essentials for small businesses and why they should consider getting certified.

What is Cyber Essentials?

Cyber Essentials is a UK government-backed scheme that helps organisations of all sizes protect themselves against common online threats. It’s a set of basic security controls that businesses can implement to reduce the risk of a cyber attack. The scheme covers five key areas of security:

  • Boundary firewalls and internet gateways
  • Secure configuration
  • User access control
  • Malware protection
  • Patch management

By implementing these controls, businesses can protect themselves against around 80% of common cyber attacks. Cyber Essentials certification is designed to be a low-cost and straightforward way for orgabis to demonstrate that they have implemented these controls.

Why is Cyber Essentials important for Small businesses?

Small businesses are particularly vulnerable to cyber attacks because they often lack the resources and time to implement robust security measures. They may also be percieved as an easier target by cyber criminals who assume that they will have weaker security than larger organisations.

Here are some of the reasons why Cyber Essentials is important for small businesses:

  1. Protecting against cyber attacks – Cyber Essentials provides a basic level of protection against common online threats. By implementing these controls, small businesses can reduce the risk of a cyber attack and minimise the impact if one does occur.
  2. Demonstrating to customers and suppliers that you take security seriously – Cyber Essentials certification shows that you have taken steps to protect your operations against cyber threats. This can be an important factor in winning new customers and suppliers, particularly in industries where security is a key concern.
  3. Compliance – Cyber Essentials is becoming increasingly important for organisations that want to tender for government contracts. Many government departments now require suppliers to be Cyber Essentials certified, so businesses that want to work with the government will need to get certified.
  4. Reassuring employees – Employees want to work for a business that takes security seriously. Cyber Essentials certification can be an important factor in attracting and retaining staff, particularly in industries where security is a key.

If you’d like to know more about how Fourtify can support you in achieving Cyber Essentials or to discuss how Fourtify can support your business, get in touch with the team today: hello@fourtify.co.uk.

Categories