VectorCloud – your fast route to Cyber Essentials

Earlier in 2017 VectorCloud became an official accreditation and certification body for Cyber Essentials, the Government’s guidelines around how your business can protect against the majority of cyber-attacks. Cyber Essentials is mandatory for any small business looking to become a supplier or partner to any Government, local authority or Ministry of Defence department.

As more Scottish small businesses aim for the certification it’s become apparent that understanding what Cyber Essentials entails is one thing – but bringing your systems up to the required standard while running your business is quite another. We’ll explain why we’re perfectly positioned to help…

Free guidance

The Cyber Essentials guidance information is available free of charge from the HM Government website. In there, it’s explained what is required from a business seeking the certificate – in 3 seemingly simple steps:

1. Your business identifies areas of network infrastructure that represent cyber-security ‘weak points’.
2. A self-assessment of these systems takes place, concentrating on; your firewall and internet gateways, configuration of your company network, who can access data you hold, anti-virus and breach protection systems and the logistics around keeping your systems up to date.
3. The verification process takes place, self-assessment questionnaire driven – then signed off by a Government Cyber Essentials partner.

While it is only at the final assessment point that any cost is involved, there’s potential for the self-assessment process to be an enormous drain on resources – and with only generic information available on what should be done, there’s no guarantee that you’ll cover all the necessary bases first time around.

Cyber Essentials versus Cyber Essentials Plus

For some businesses, the nature of the sensitive data they hold requires more than just the basics to be covered by a cyber security accreditation – this is where Cyber Essentials Plus comes into play.

This next level of certification covers the same points as the more basic version – but the assessment process is handled by a Government approved partner – and includes a live attempt to hack your network and extract data!

Your business and IT business

After 20 years of IT partnership with an enormous variety of small businesses – we’ve learned that you’ve rarely got time to drop everything in your core business and focus on your IT. UK wide statistics back this up; showing that 86% of an SMB IT department’s time is spent simply keeping systems running – without Government accreditation guidelines and inspection teams to deal with.

But, without Cyber Essentials can you be certain your network security is at the right level? Is it the final thing holding you back from bidding on lucrative Government tenders?

VectorCloud can help

As Scotland’s foremost IT backup and security company, we’re already well positioned to advise you on all the things that will keep your business data safe – and since becoming established as a Government Cyber Essentials partner, we know exactly what’s needed to fast-track you to accreditation.

If you’re a small business looking toward Cyber Essentials accreditation, there’s no doubt about it – you’re a forward thinking and hard-working group of people. Time will rarely be on your side – but we’re in a unique position to give you more of it!

We know exactly what’s required, we know the products and processes that work, we’ve seen it, we’ve done it – and we’ve supported lots of small businesses along the same path. Talk to us today if Cyber Essentials is on your to-do list, by working with VectorCloud to achieve accreditation you take uncertainty out of the equation.