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Cyber Essentials

What is Cyber Essentials?

A UK government-backed certification scheme that helps organisations protect against the most common cyber threats. Cyber Essentials covers five technical controls: firewalls, secure configuration, access control, malware protection, and patch management.

Compliance

Frameworks that govern cyber essentials

ISO 27001:2022View framework →NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5View framework →CIS Controls v8View framework →

What the standards actually require on cyber essentials

Requirements naming cyber essentials across 2 standards, quoted from the control text.

UK Defence Standard 05-138 - Cyber Security for Defence Suppliers2 controls

L1 requires the supplier to hold Cyber Essentials certification and apply the controls specified in Def Stan 05-138 Annex A at the L1 level.

DEFSTAN-L1 · Risk Profile L1 Very Low →
Lloyd's of London Cyber Insurance Requirements and Underwriting Standards1 control

Lloyds Cyber Insurance Requirements - Risk Selection and Cyber Hygiene Underwriting Criteria. Underwriters must conduct rigorous risk selection + due diligence assessing insured-cyber hygiene including: (a) Mandatory cyber hygiene requirements (insurance-grade...

LLOYDS-CI-Risk-Selection-Cyber-Hygiene-Underwriting-Criteria-Pre-Bind-Risk-Engineering-MFA-Backup-EDR · Lloyds Cyber Insurance Risk Selection + Hygiene + Pre-Bind Engineering →

Questions people ask about cyber essentials

What is Cyber Essentials?
A UK government-backed certification scheme that helps organisations protect against the most common cyber threats. Cyber Essentials covers five technical controls: firewalls, secure configuration, access control, malware protection, and patch management.
Why is Cyber Essentials important for compliance?
Cyber Essentials is a key concept in Compliance. Understanding cyber essentials helps organizations meet regulatory requirements, reduce risk, and demonstrate due diligence during audits. Our compliance platform maps 686 frameworks with 311K cross-framework control mappings.
Which compliance frameworks address Cyber Essentials?
Cyber Essentials appears in the requirement text of UK Defence Standard 05-138 - Cyber Security for Defence Suppliers, Lloyd's of London Cyber Insurance Requirements and Underwriting Standards. Across these standards we have identified 3 controls that name it directly, each linked to the control text on the compliance platform.
Where can I learn more about Cyber Essentials?
Explore our compliance framework pages to see how cyber essentials applies across different standards and regulations. Our implementation guides provide step-by-step guidance, and the compliance platform offers AI-powered analysis of how this concept maps across 686 frameworks.

See how Cyber Essentials applies across compliance frameworks

Our platform maps 686 frameworks with 311K cross-framework control mappings. Explore how this concept is addressed across standards.

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Written and maintained by Gerard Blokdyk, The Art of Service.