Cyber Essentials Plus Certification

Strengthen your cyber defences with Cyber Essentials Plus

Protecting your business from cyber threats has never been more important. Your Digital CTO provides Cyber Essentials Plus assessments and certification to ensure your organisation meets essential cybersecurity standards. This independently audited certification enhances your security posture, safeguarding your business against the most common cyber attacks.

Why Cyber Essentials Plus?

Cyber Essentials Plus builds on the standard Cyber Essentials certification by adding an independent assessment to verify your security measures. By implementing and validating the five key security controls, your business can significantly reduce the risk of cyber threats.

Key benefits of Cyber Essentials Plus certification

Independent verification

Unlike the standard Cyber Essentials certification, Cyber Essentials Plus includes an in-depth external assessment, providing added credibility and assurance to stakeholders.

Enhanced security

By enforcing boundary firewalls, secure configurations, access control, malware protection, and patch management, you can prevent up to 80% of common cyber threats.

Regulatory compliance

Many industries and government contracts require certification, ensuring your business meets essential cybersecurity standards.

Competitive advantage

Demonstrating your commitment to cybersecurity enhances your reputation and instils confidence in clients, partners, and suppliers.

Our approach

At Your Digital CTO, we take a streamlined, jargon-free approach to the certification. Our process includes:

Pre-assessment review – We evaluate your existing security measures and identify areas for improvement.
Independent assessment – Our experts conduct a hands-on technical audit to verify compliance with Cyber Essentials Plus requirements.
Remediation support – If required, we provide guidance to address any vulnerabilities before final certification.
Certification & ongoing support – Once certified, we offer continued support to help maintain and enhance your security posture.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What are the steps to achieve Cyber Essentials Plus certification?

We don’t offer a standard Cyber Essentials Plus certification, you wont be presented with a long list of technical questions and be expected to form a sensible answer.
Step 1
We provide a curated list of non technical, plain English and non Jargon questions about how you do certain things, we provide guidance and mention who might be better to answer.
If you can’t answer don’t worry – we move to Step 2
Step 2
We review and seek clarification – either via a short video call or over email – whichever you prefer. Again non-technical, we will probe until we get the answers we need.
Step 3
We compare your answers against the standard, at this stage we identify any configuration, processes or setup that means you wouldn’t achieve certification. For each ‘gap’ we provide guidance, explain why it’s important and more importantly explain a few solutions to close the gap.
These could be as simple as having a process/procedure (which we can supply), installing some software or changing some settings.
Step 4
We confirm your new answers based on closing the gaps.
Step 5
We perform the technical audit, we prepare a time for a remote access to core systems to perform the necessary checks. Should you fail any you will be notified and guidance to resolve will be provided – we will reschedule for a suitable time.
Step 6
When we complete the technical audit successfully we submit your details and congratulations – you are now certified. You will receive your certificate and confirmation of cyber insurance, if eligible.

How long does the certification last?

Your certification is valid for 12 months, unlike other organisations we reward you for renewing with us – renewal is a simple process.

On renewal we will ask you if there have been any changes in your business (e.g. has your team size grown, have you changed software etc) – we support in updating your answers (and closing any gaps as before).

This is a great opportunity to review your security arrangements, remind your team how to keep your organisation safe and ensure you are following these best practices.

How are YourDigitalCTO different from other providers?

There is nothing standard about our Cyber Essentials Plus service, we don’t just provide a list of standard questions, we don’t leave you to your own devices, we actively support you in providing multiple options to achieve certification.

As part of our service our goal is to support and educate organisations to understand good digital governance – of which cyber essentials is part. We appreciate some organisations just wish to be certified which is fine, but we offer an additional awareness of what good digital governance can do (less supplier costs, less digital risks etc).

What is the difference between Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus

Cyber Essentials Plus is an audited certification, this means rather than self-certifying that you comply with the standard, an audit of your systems is completed to verify that you comply with the standard. It is more interactive than Cyber Essentials – a real-time check of the required controls by a qualified security tester.

What happens if I fail

Our approach is designed to identify any potential issues prior to testing, giving you the opportunity to close any gaps as required. If any issues are noted during testing we will work with you to address – Any non-compliances that can be resolved quickly and in a timely fashion can be retested without additional fees. In the event of a non-compliance leading to termination of testing, one retest is included for FREE.

Am I entitled to the FREE cyber insurance?

On passing Cyber Essentials, being a UK company with turnover under £20 million you can agree to receive the free cyber insurance (you can also choose to opt out).

What level of support will I receive?

You will always receive 1-to-1 support, we will work to your timetable and your capabilities – the goal here is simple – help your organisation protect itself from 80% of the most common cyber attacks – certification is the cherry on top!

What is your refund policy?

We want you to be 100% happy at all times, once we submit results to IASME refunds are not possible. We want you to be 100% happy and if you aren’t for any reason prior to submission, and we can’t resolve that, we will refund 100% of any monies paid for that service.

Why Choose Your Digital CTO?

At Your Digital CTO, we specialise in delivering tailored cyber security solutions for organisations seeking to enhance their protection against evolving cyber threats. Our expertise spans multiple industries, ensuring that businesses can implement cyber security frameworks aligned with best practices and compliance requirements.

Why choose us?

Expert cyber consultants – Our team of experienced cybersecurity professionals provides thorough assessments and actionable insights.
Tailored solutions – We understand that every organisation is unique, and we adapt our approach to align with your specific security needs.
Ongoing cybersecurity support – Beyond certification, we assist in maintaining long-term security resilience.

Take the Next Step Towards Stronger Cyber Security
Cyber Essentials Plus not only boosts your cyber defences, it also shows clients and partners that you’re serious about security.

Contact us today to find out how Your Digital CTO can help your organisation achieve Cyber Essentials Plus and stay secure in a digital world.

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