Why would this be of interest to my company?

The dangers of not securing your company's IT:

With over 500,000 newly designed forms of malware being developed every day to gain unauthorized access to your digital devices and information, there is a real risk of:

• Theft of information from company devices such as usernames and account details.
• Using stolen credentials to steal money, information and set up fake accounts for fraudulent activity.
• Ransomware that can threaten to encrypt, erase and deny access to your files until a ransom is paid.
• Spreading the infection to any device that is connected.
• Losing valuable time, productivity and earnings to restore devices to a clean operational state.
• Damaging of brand and reputation.

The benefits of achieving Cyber Essentials:

• Communicate, browse and use your online services and IT management software with confidence with a firewall secured and protected network.
• Have all your company’s digital devices up to date and under the protection of powerful anti-malware software. Never be at risk from fraudulent email and infected website links again.
• Prevent any risk of infected software installation or unauthorized administrative access or control of your devices.
• Improve and ensure the security, organisation and management of all account passwords.
• Continue to be eligible to bid for Government contracts on Public Contracts Scotland.
• Show customers and other businesses that you take cyber security seriously.

What exactly is Cyber Essentials?

Cyber Essentials is a UK Government backed scheme to help organisations protect their business network, devices, information and customers from common online threats and consequences listed above. We do this by implementing 5 technical controls to obtain a recognised standard of cyber security that will prevent 80% of potential cyber-attacks.

These 5 technical controls are:

• Secure your internet connection through use of appropriate firewalls.
• Secure your devices and software with proper user account management.
• Control access to your data and services with a strong and robust password policy.
• Protect from Viruses and other malware.
• Keep your devices and software up to date.

What is the Cyber Essentials voucher scheme?

To help more businesses become cyber secure, Scottish Enterprise provide the Cyber Essential Voucher Scheme which offers to cover the costs up to £1000 to help Scottish SME’s achieve the certification. For the vast majority of SME’s this will cover the costs of cyber essentials.

To be eligible to apply for the voucher you must satisfy the following criteria:

• Must be a small or medium enterprise (SME) with fewer than 250 employees.
• Must have a registered base in Scotland.
• Must operate IT with a connection to the internet.
• Your business cannot be already Cyber Essentials Certified as the voucher scheme is for new applicants only.

What do I need to do?

What is involved and how intrusive will it be?

• Firstly, we’ll do an audit of all the devices used within the business.
• Then from here we would implement the 5 mandatory cyber essentials controls at you company’s premises.
• We will then complete your Cyber Essentials questionnaire and send off all the information to the Certification Body.
• Notification will then come through confirming. your Cyber Essentials Certification as well as your certificate and logos to use when you do business.
• Overall this process of being on site only takes about a day and shouldn’t interfere with your day to day business.

What’s involved in the Voucher Application?

We undertake the majority of the paperwork as part of the service to make sure it’s as hassle free as possible.

What are the costs?

• All costs will be covered by the voucher from Scottish Enterprise, so there will be no further costs to the business.
• When Certification is achieved, the business will pay the £1000. When this is proved to Scottish Enterprise, the business will be reimbursed. This process from start to finish usually takes a maximum of 2 weeks.

How long does the certification process take?

• Initial audit and implementing the required changes to your devices can usually be completed within a single day.
• The Certification award will usually be made within a day or 2 after questionnaire submission.

How much involvement is there for me in above?

We keep this as minimal as possible to prevent any disruption so all that is required is providing the relevant information regarding your company’s IT set up.

Is certification guaranteed?

Certification is only given to companies that meet the minimum requirements required by the scheme.

What happens if we fail?

In the extremely unlikely event that we were be unable to complete the requirements for Certification, there indeed would be no charge. This would be identified at the initial audit before any work was undertaken.

What do we get once certified?

You will receive your Certificate of Compliance both in digital and paper form. You will also receive the Cyber Essentials official badge for company website and marketing materials.

How long does accreditation last?

12 months but the benefits and security in place will be enjoyed for as long as the procedures and recommendations set are followed.

Can I spread the cost?

The £1000 fee has to be paid on completion in order to claim this back through the voucher scheme, but we do offer a monthly subscription to cover Re-Certification.

What systems do you require access to?

We would require password access to your computer user accounts and Wi-Fi router for evaluation and implementation of any requirements needed to improve the security up to meet minimum requirements.

We would not require access to any password protected sensitive IT management systems.

Is there any downtime for our business?

We make every effort to work around day to day company operation to minimize disruption so that there is no downtime.

Do you provide a confidentiality disclaimer?

Yes, we have a confidentiality disclaimer that we are happy to sign to ensure your data protection / privacy policy is not compromised.