Certification that proves your baseline.

Cyber Essentials is a government-backed certification scheme that helps organisations protect themselves against the most common internet-based cyber attacks. It is overseen by the UK National Cyber Security Centre and delivered through IASME. Certification is based on five technical controls: firewalls, secure configuration, security update management, user access control, and malware protection. Achieving Cyber Essentials demonstrates to customers, partners, and insurers that a baseline of good cyber hygiene is in place.

Cyber Essentials is a verified self-assessment. The organisation completes a questionnaire on how it meets the five technical controls, and this is reviewed and certified. Cyber Essentials Plus covers the same five controls but adds an independent, hands-on technical audit. An assessor tests a sample of systems to confirm the controls are actually in place and working. Cyber Essentials Plus provides a higher level of assurance and is often required where a customer or contract demands independent verification.

The five technical controls are: firewalls, which control traffic entering and leaving your networks and devices; secure configuration, which removes unnecessary default settings and accounts; security update management, which keeps software patched and supported; user access control, which limits access and administrative rights to what people need and now requires multi-factor authentication for cloud services; and malware protection, which defends devices against malicious software. Together they address the most common routes attackers take.

Yes. Although Cyber Essentials is a UK government-backed scheme, it is widely recognised as a clear baseline of cyber hygiene and can be achieved by organisations in Ireland as well as the UK. It is frequently requested in tenders and supply chain due diligence, particularly where an organisation works with UK public sector bodies or larger enterprises, and it maps well onto the foundational controls expected under frameworks such as ISO 27001 and NIS2. Edge7 Networks supports Cyber Essentials certification for organisations across Ireland and the UK.

The Cyber Essentials requirements are reviewed and updated each year by IASME on behalf of the NCSC. The April 2026 update made multi-factor authentication a mandatory requirement for all cloud services where it is available, introduced a formal definition of cloud services, placed greater emphasis on passwordless authentication and passkeys, and clarified how organisations must justify anything excluded from the assessment scope. Edge7 Networks prepares you against the current requirements, not last year's.

The timeline depends on how close your current environment already is to the five controls. An organisation with good baseline hygiene can move through readiness, remediation, and certification in a matter of weeks. Where there are gaps, such as missing multi-factor authentication, inconsistent patching, or excess administrative access, remediation is the main variable. Edge7 Networks begins with a readiness check so you have a realistic timeline and a clear list of what needs to change before you submit.