CYBER ESSENTIALS
CERTIFICATION
UK & LONDON
Coreitech is a specialist Cyber Essentials certification partner for London and UK businesses. We deliver end-to-end Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus certification — gap assessments, hands-on remediation, policy documentation, and a high first-time pass rate. Get certified fast with a dedicated UK team.
CYBER ESSENTIALS CERTIFICATION
vs CYBER ESSENTIALS PLUS
Both certifications are NCSC-backed. Choose Cyber Essentials certification for a self-assessment route, or Cyber Essentials Plus for independently verified technical testing — required by many government and enterprise supply chains.
Cyber Essentials (Basic)
- Self-assessment questionnaire support
- External vulnerability scan
- Gap assessment & remediation plan
- Policy documentation templates
- Pre-submission review
- Certification badge on completion
Cyber Essentials Plus
- Everything in Cyber Essentials
- Independent technical verification
- Vulnerability assessment of all endpoints
- On-site or remote testing
- Internal network scanning
- Full audit-ready documentation
HOW WE GET YOU
CERTIFIED
Gap Assessment
We review your systems, policies, and controls against the Cyber Essentials framework to identify where you stand.
Custom Remediation Plan
No generic checklists — we tailor remediation steps to your exact setup and business requirements.
Policy & Documentation
Need an Acceptable Use Policy, Patch Management Plan, or Access Control Policy? We draft them for you.
Technical Configuration
We validate your firewall rules, MFA settings, antivirus, patching, and more to ensure full technical compliance.
Pre-Submission Audit
We run through the self-assessment questionnaire with you and fix any final issues before submission.
Why UK businesses need Cyber Essentials certification
Cyber Essentials certification is the UK government's baseline standard for cyber security. Without it, businesses are increasingly locked out of contracts, tenders, and regulated supply chains.
Get Certified — Free ReviewRequired for government contracts
Any business supplying the UK government with IT products, services, or handling personal data must hold a valid Cyber Essentials certificate. Without it, you cannot tender.
Protects against 80% of cyber attacks
The five Cyber Essentials controls — firewalls, secure configuration, access control, malware protection, and patch management — defend against the vast majority of common internet-based attacks.
Mandatory in many supply chains
Large enterprises, NHS bodies, defence contractors, and financial services firms increasingly mandate Cyber Essentials certification from all suppliers. Failure to certify means lost business.
Includes free cyber insurance
IASME-certified organisations with under 20 employees receive free cyber liability insurance (up to £25,000) with their Cyber Essentials certificate — a significant added benefit.
Demonstrates due diligence
Certification signals to clients, partners, and insurers that your business takes cyber security seriously. It reduces insurance premiums and builds client trust, particularly in regulated sectors.
Annual renewal keeps you compliant
Cyber Essentials must be renewed every 12 months. Coreitech's managed IT clients stay permanently ready — no scramble at renewal time, no risk of lapsed certification.
WHY LONDON BUSINESSES
CHOOSE US FOR CYBER ESSENTIALS
NCSC-aligned expertise
Our security engineers are trained in the Cyber Essentials framework and keep up to date with annual scheme changes.
High first-time pass rate
Our pre-submission review catches issues before you submit — significantly reducing the risk of failure and delay.
Microsoft 365 specialists
Most Cyber Essentials failures involve cloud misconfiguration. We fix MFA, Conditional Access, and Intune policies correctly.
Managed IT clients stay certified
For managed IT clients, Cyber Essentials controls are maintained year-round — renewal is fast and low-effort.
Cyber Essentials certification
explained for UK businesses
Cyber Essentials is a UK government-backed certification scheme, developed and overseen by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). It sets out a baseline of five cyber security controls that all UK organisations should have in place to defend against the most common internet-borne threats.
The five technical controls covered by Cyber Essentials are: firewalls (boundary protection), secure configuration (no unnecessary services or default passwords), access control (least-privilege user accounts), malware protection (antivirus and endpoint security), and patch management (keeping software and operating systems up to date).
Achieving Cyber Essentials certification demonstrates that your organisation has these controls in place and is verified by an independent assessor. It is increasingly required for UK government contracts, NHS supplier frameworks, and large enterprise supply chains.
Coreitech provides end-to-end Cyber Essentials certification support for London and UK businesses — from the initial gap assessment through to submission, and annual renewal. We work with businesses in law firms, financial services, healthcare, accountancy, recruitment, and the public sector supply chain.
Sectors that need Cyber Essentials
certification
Frequently asked questions about
Cyber Essentials certification
Q.What is Cyber Essentials certification?
Cyber Essentials is a UK government-backed certification scheme developed by the NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre) that helps organisations protect against the most common cyber threats. It covers five technical controls: firewalls, secure configuration, access control, malware protection, and patch management. Achieving Cyber Essentials certification demonstrates that your business meets a baseline level of cyber security and protects against around 80% of common cyber attacks.
Q.What is the difference between Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus?
Cyber Essentials is a self-assessment certification — you answer questions about your security controls and these are verified by an assessor. Cyber Essentials Plus builds on this with independent technical verification by a qualified assessor who actually tests your systems to confirm the controls are in place and working correctly. Cyber Essentials Plus is more rigorous, more credible, and is increasingly required for government and large enterprise supply chains.
Q.How much does Cyber Essentials certification cost?
The Cyber Essentials assessment fee is set by IASME (the scheme body) and is currently £300+VAT for organisations with fewer than 99 employees. Cyber Essentials Plus has a variable assessment fee depending on the size and complexity of the organisation — typically £1,500–£5,000. Coreitech charges separately for our preparation and readiness support, which is scoped based on your current security posture. Contact us for a fixed-price quote.
Q.How long does it take to get Cyber Essentials certified?
If your systems are already reasonably well-configured, Cyber Essentials certification can be achieved in 2–4 weeks. If there are significant gaps — for example, no MFA, unpatched systems, or missing firewall rules — remediation typically takes 4–8 weeks. Coreitech's readiness process is designed to get you certified as quickly as possible without cutting corners.
Q.Do I need Cyber Essentials to win government contracts?
Yes. The UK government requires all suppliers handling personal data or providing certain categories of IT products and services to hold a valid Cyber Essentials certificate. Many large enterprises and public sector bodies now mandate Cyber Essentials (or Cyber Essentials Plus) in their supply chain requirements. Without it, you will be disqualified from tendering for these contracts.
Q.Does Cyber Essentials certification cover cloud services?
Yes. The Cyber Essentials framework covers cloud services, including Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and other SaaS platforms used by your organisation. The key is ensuring that the security controls are correctly configured in those platforms — for example, MFA is enabled, admin accounts are protected, and data access is appropriately restricted. Coreitech specialises in Microsoft 365 security configuration and regularly helps businesses achieve Cyber Essentials compliance in cloud-first environments.
Q.What happens if I fail the Cyber Essentials assessment?
If you fail the assessment, the assessor will provide a list of the specific controls that were not met. You then have the opportunity to remediate those issues and resubmit. Coreitech's pre-submission review process is designed to identify and fix all potential failures before you submit — our clients have a very high first-time pass rate. If you fail after working with us, we'll remediate the issues at no additional charge.
Q.Can Coreitech help us renew our Cyber Essentials certification?
Yes. Cyber Essentials certification must be renewed annually. Coreitech provides annual renewal support as part of our managed IT service — ensuring your controls remain in place year-round and that renewal is quick and straightforward. Many of our managed IT clients are permanently Cyber Essentials ready.
Are you ready for Cyber Essentials?
Take our free 10-question readiness check and get an instant score across all 5 control areas.
Your details — to personalise your report
Ready to get Cyber Essentials certified?
Book a free Cyber Essentials readiness review. We'll assess your current controls, identify any gaps, and give you a clear picture of what's needed to achieve certification — no obligation.
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