What is Cyber Essentials + Certification and why it’s important

4 min read Written by: Dave Floyd
Cyber plus

We have been a Cyber Essentials accredited organisation for several years now. This year, with a growing team and a greater awareness of the importance of adequate cyber security, we decided to pursue Cyber Essentials+ accreditation.

Effective cyber security is essential for businesses of all sizes and across various sectors. At Perago, achieving the Cyber Essentials Plus (CE+) certification has numerous benefits.

Here are just a few of the reasons why this accreditation is important:

  1. Increased team size and improving our security

Our team has experienced exciting growth in the last year and a half. With this growth, we have also become more aware of our digital footprint and the potential for unwanted attention from less scrupulous third parties. Thanks to the CE+ process, we’ve taken a closer look at how we manage our data and information.

Unlike the basic Cyber Essentials certification, CE+ involves a rigorous assessment of our cyber security measures and an independent evaluation of our systems, helping us to make sure our defences are robust and effective against common cyber threats. This thorough assessment helped us identify and mitigate vulnerabilities, significantly enhancing our security.

  1. Increased trust and credibility

As data breaches become increasingly common, we need to make sure not only our data and information, but that of of our clients and partners is stored safely. Achieving CE+ certification demonstrates our commitment to maintaining high-security standards. It not only assures us that our data is in safe hands but also reassures clients that their sensitive information is safe with us.

  1. Regulatory compliance

CE+ aligns with various regulatory frameworks, including GDPR. This certification helps us make sure our compliance with data protection laws, reducing the risk of legal penalties and enhancing our reputation as a responsible business.

  1. Improved cyber resilience

The certification process involved a hands-on technical assessment, which helped us to identify potential weaknesses in our systems. By identifying and addressing these vulnerabilities, we’ve improved our ‘infrastructure’ resilience, making us more capable of withstanding cyber-attacks and ensuring business continuity.

  1. Cost-effective security

Investing in CE+ certification has proven to be a cost-effective way for us to improve our cyber security policies. Going through the process has helped us understand and implement good practices and efficient security measures for our organisation. Implementing these policies has helped us to reduce the likelihood of costly data breaches and broader reputational impacts.

  1. Employee awareness and training

The journey to CE+ certification has been a learning one. We’ve spent time working across the team, understanding cybersecurity good practices. Several team members started to look more intently at how cybercrime could affect them personally and what they could do to mitigate these risks.

This increased awareness across the team has helped to foster a more security-conscious culture, further strengthening our defences against cyber threats.

Obtaining CE+ certification has been a strategic investment, but we are already seeing substantial benefits, such as improving our security and regulatory compliance. By prioritising cyber security and achieving CE+ certification, we’re better protecting our assets and improving our position as a trusted and reliable partner for our current and prospective clients.

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