We spoke to Transcendit IT support engineer Dave Kennedy about Cyber Essentials, and why organisations need to seriously consider getting certified in 2026.
What is Cyber Essentials?
‘Cyber Essentials is a government approved standard for security in technology through businesses,’ says Dave. ‘It covers both the technology that a business uses, and how that technology is used and processed.’
‘Within the processing policy, Cyber Essentials ensures that a business has appropriate documentation on how staff should use technology, how they approve things that are administration related, the steps that employees go through for certain processes. Cyber Essentials considers how the technology that businesses are using relates to these processes; for example, network security, multi-factor authentication, and software and hardware operating systems.’
‘There are two different levels, one which is self-assessed, and another which is externally assessed. You answer some questions about your organisation and how it operates, and then your answers are reviewed by someone from the Cyber Essentials team. From there, you’re certified, and you’re searchable on their website.’
Will being Cyber Essentials certified keep your business safe?
‘Unfortunately, there is no ‘safe’ any more when we’re talking about cyber security; there’s only safer,’ says Dave. ‘However, getting a Cyber Essentials certification means that you’ve met the government minimum standard to protect your business. And everything that Cyber Essentials ensures that you have in place will provide a strong defence against things like phishing attempts, cyber attacks, ransomware and hacking attempts.’
‘Where businesses can get themselves into trouble are with old systems and outdated software,’ says Dave. ‘Some organisations will be really used to using a certain piece of hardware, or be very familiar with an application. They might only use it once every couple of weeks, and so it doesn’t really feel that important if the manufacturer isn’t updating it any more, or the security is lacking.’
Dave says that it’s these applications, software and hardware that can lead to phishing and hacking attempts, ‘You’re only as strong as your weakest link. A scammer is going to find the easiest way into your systems, and the easiest way to do that is through an old machine that’s connected to your central network, or a system that doesn’t have multi-factor authentication set up.’
It’s a good standard to make sure that your business is as protected as it can be, for what is good common practice. At this point, businesses that aren’t following Cyber Essentials guidelines are going to be those who aren’t updating software, or who aren’t using multi-factor authentication. Cyber Essentials certification is a way to make sure that you’re meeting current best practices throughout your business, to make sure that the business is as secure as it can be.’
Is Cyber Essentials mandatory for businesses?
‘It’s not mandatory, but there's a caveat,’ says Dave. ‘If you want to work with the NHS, or any government service, they are all currently asking for Cyber Essentials certification as a minimum. And even for organisations who aren’t interested in working with government services, these are best practice guidelines. So it isn’t mandatory, but it is highly, highly recommended, regardless of the size of your business.’
‘This isn’t something that Transcendit is recommending solely from our experience,’ says Dave. ‘It’s a government-backed baseline.’
How can Transcendit help?
‘This isn’t something organisations need to do alone,’ says Dave. ‘Drop us an email, or give us a call, and we can talk you through the process and help your organisation answer the questions. We can also support businesses by setting up anything that they’re missing that will prevent a certification, whether that’s systems updates, hardware upgrades or documentation.’
‘For most organisations, the investment is the cost of the assessment, and a couple of hours going through the questions with one of our IT support engineers. And the benefit is that you know that you’re making your business safer, and getting a certification too. Unfortunately, organisations that aren’t following these guidelines are vulnerable. But there are easy fixes, and when the fixes are trickier, we can help.’
Give us a call on 0191 482 0444 to talk about Cyber Essentials
