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Services · Tech
Cyber Essentials certification
Fixed fee, fixed timeline. The certification more and more UK contracts and insurers now ask for, done properly rather than fudged through the questionnaire.£1,800 to £2,500
What cyber essentials certification actually means
Cyber Essentials is a UK government-backed certification that shows you have five basic technical controls in place: a properly configured firewall, secure settings on your devices, control over who can access what, protection against malware, and a handle on keeping everything updated. It is deliberately not exotic. It is the set of simple things that, done properly, stop the overwhelming majority of common attacks.
There are two levels. Cyber Essentials is a self-assessment we complete and submit for you, verified externally. Cyber Essentials Plus adds a hands-on technical audit where an assessor actually checks your systems rather than taking your word for it. Which one you need usually comes down to what a contract, tender or insurer is asking for, and we will tell you straight rather than upselling.
The important word in how we do it is properly. It is entirely possible to answer the questionnaire in a way that scrapes a pass while leaving the real problems untouched, and plenty of providers do exactly that. We fix what is actually wrong first and certify the fixed version, because the certificate is meant to mean you are safer, not just that you filled a form in cleverly.
See it work
Rather than take our word for it
Can you spot the fake? Click the parts of this email that look wrong.
From: Microsoft 365 <>
Subject: Your password expires today
,
Our records show your password will expire. You must verify your account .
Confirm here:
You found 0 of 5 red flags
- Hidden, click a suspicious part of the email
- Hidden, click a suspicious part of the email
- Hidden, click a suspicious part of the email
- Hidden, click a suspicious part of the email
- Hidden, click a suspicious part of the email
A scripted demonstration using a made-up email. In a real phishing simulation we send safe test emails to your team and report, privately, who needs a hand.
How it helps your business
The commercial help is immediate and concrete: more and more contracts, public-sector tenders and cyber-insurance policies now require Cyber Essentials before they will deal with you at all. Without it you are quietly excluded from work you could otherwise win. With it, a growing number of doors that were shut are suddenly open, and the certificate pays for itself the first time it wins or keeps a client.
The security help is that going through it properly closes the exact holes that ordinary attacks walk through. This is not protection against a nation-state; it is protection against the automated, opportunistic attacks that make up the vast bulk of what actually hits small businesses. Getting the basics genuinely right is unglamorous and it is also where almost all of the real-world risk reduction lives.
And it gives you a clear, honest picture of where you stand. The gap assessment at the start tells you plainly what is wrong and what it will take to fix, ranked sensibly, so even before the certificate you have something valuable: an end to guessing whether you are alright, replaced by a short list of the things that actually need doing.
What is included
- Gap assessment, remediation and submission, all included
- Cyber Essentials or Cyber Essentials Plus
- Typically six to eight weeks from start to certificate
- We fix what is wrong rather than coaching you to answer around it
Real examples
Illustrative cases. Tap one to see what happened and what could have been done.
The tender that needed the badge
The case
A facilities firm was about to be locked out of a large public-sector framework it had bid years to reach, because the tender now required Cyber Essentials and they did not have it.
What could have been done
Running the gap assessment, fixing the handful of things genuinely wrong, and certifying inside the deadline keeps them in the running for work worth many times the cost of the certificate.
The pass that would have been a lie
The case
A marketing agency had been helped by a previous provider to 'pass' the self-assessment by wording the answers carefully, while leaving admin rights on every laptop and updates months behind, so the certificate they held did not reflect reality.
What could have been done
Telling them plainly the certificate was hollow, fixing the actual controls and recertifying honestly is the difference between paperwork and safety. Had they been breached on the old version, the gap between the form and the truth would have been a very awkward conversation with an insurer.
Ready to sort cyber essentials certification?
Tell us what is going wrong and we will come back with a fixed price in writing, after a short scoping call. No obligation, and no jargon.
Common questions about cyber essentials certification
How much does cyber essentials certification cost?
£1,800 to £2,500. We agree the exact number before any work starts, so there are no open ended day rates.
How long does cyber essentials certification take?
Most work of this kind is live within three to four weeks. We give you a date before we begin and tell you early if anything threatens it.
Do you work outside Edinburgh?
Yes. We are based in Edinburgh and work on site across the Lothians, Fife and Glasgow, and remotely across the United Kingdom.
Cyber Essentials certification in your area
Same service, same prices, wherever you are. On site across central Scotland and remotely across the rest of the UK.
Cyber Essentials certification in EdinburghCyber Essentials certification in LeithCyber Essentials certification in FifeCyber Essentials certification in Livingston and West LothianCyber Essentials certification in GlasgowCyber Essentials certification in DundeeCyber Essentials certification in Aberdeen and the north eastCyber Essentials certification in StirlingCyber Essentials certification in FalkirkCyber Essentials certification in Perth and PerthshireCyber Essentials certification in LondonCyber Essentials certification in ManchesterCyber Essentials certification in BirminghamCyber Essentials certification in LeedsCyber Essentials certification in LiverpoolCyber Essentials certification in SheffieldCyber Essentials certification in BristolCyber Essentials certification in Newcastle upon TyneCyber Essentials certification in NottinghamCyber Essentials certification in LeicesterCyber Essentials certification in CoventryCyber Essentials certification in CardiffCyber Essentials certification in SwanseaCyber Essentials certification in BelfastCyber Essentials certification in SouthamptonCyber Essentials certification in BrightonCyber Essentials certification in ReadingCyber Essentials certification in Inverness
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