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Cyber Security and Cyber Essentials for Businesses

Cyber attacks aren’t only a problem for large companies. Small businesses are targeted because their defences are often weaker, and a single phishing email or unpatched laptop can lead to lost data, downtime and damage to your reputation.

HelpQuick helps North East businesses with 5 to 50 staff put the right protections in place, prove it with Cyber Essentials certification, and keep those protections working all year round.

Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus

Cyber Essentials is the UK government-backed scheme that shows your business has the basic protections in place against the most common cyber attacks. More and more customers, insurers and public sector contracts ask for it.

  • Cyber Essentials is a self-assessment of your IT, verified by an accredited certification body.
  • Cyber Essentials Plus covers the same requirements, with a hands-on technical audit of your systems carried out by the certification body.

We recently helped Newcastle software company shineVision achieve both Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus. Read the case study.

What Cyber Essentials Covers

The scheme is built around five technical controls:

  • Firewalls protecting your internet connection and devices
  • Secure configuration of computers, servers and cloud services
  • User access control, including multi-factor authentication
  • Malware protection on every device
  • Security update management, so patches are applied promptly

How We Help You Get Certified

  1. Review: we check your IT against the Cyber Essentials requirements and show you where the gaps are.
  2. Fix: we close those gaps, from firewall settings and device configuration to multi-factor authentication and patching.
  3. Certify: we help you complete the assessment and prepare your systems for the Cyber Essentials Plus audit.
  4. Stay compliant: certification is renewed every year, and as your managed service provider we keep the controls in place between renewals.

Case Study: shineVision Ltd

shineVision is a Newcastle-based software company. Its shineCompliance platform helps organisations manage statutory compliance across their buildings, from fire and gas safety to asbestos and legionella. Its customers include local councils, which insist that their software suppliers hold Cyber Essentials Plus.

HelpQuick worked with shineVision as technical consultant for the certification, and as the resource implementing the changes needed across their systems. shineVision achieved both Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus, and we continue to look after their IT as their managed service provider.

Ongoing Cyber Security

Certification shows where you stand on the day; staying secure is ongoing. As part of our managed IT services we look after:

  • Firewall and network security for your office and remote workers
  • Endpoint and malware protection on computers and servers
  • Patch management for operating systems and applications
  • Multi-factor authentication and access control for your staff
  • Microsoft 365 security configuration to protect email and files
  • Encrypted backups so you can recover from ransomware or hardware failure

Talk to Us About Cyber Essentials

For a free, no-obligation review of your cyber security or your readiness for Cyber Essentials, contact HelpQuick or call 0191 258 2888.