In today’s digital-first world, businesses across industries rely heavily on technology for day-to-day operations, data management, and customer interactions. Along with these advancements, however, come significant cybersecurity risks. For companies like Active-PCB, ensuring the security and resilience of IT systems is not just about protecting company data, it’s about safeguarding the entire ecosystem of partners, clients, and stakeholders that rely on us. That’s why we are excited to announce that, following our initial Cyber Essentials certification, Active-PCB has now achieved the enhanced Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation!
Achieving Cyber Essentials Plus is a major milestone in our journey to provide the highest level of data security to our partners and clients. But what do these accreditations mean, why they are essential, and how do they help us keep your data safe?
What is Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus?
Cyber Essentials is a UK government-backed certification designed to help businesses protect themselves against the most common cyber threats. It establishes a baseline for cybersecurity by assessing five key security controls.
Cyber Essentials Plus builds on this foundation with a more rigorous, hands-on technical assessment. Achieving this higher level requires in-depth vulnerability testing by an independent assessor, which confirms that our security measures are not only in place but are functioning effectively to repel real-world attacks.
Cyber Essentials Focuses on Five Key Areas:
- Firewalls: Ensuring strong defenses at the network’s perimeter.
- Secure Configuration: Making sure devices and software are configured to reduce risk.
- User Access Control: Managing who has access to sensitive information.
- Malware Protection: Installing defenses against malware and viruses.
- Patch Management: Keeping software up-to-date to avoid vulnerabilities.
These fundamental areas represent a crucial first line of defense, while Cyber Essentials Plus takes this a step further to ensure that our systems meet even more rigorous standards.
Why is Cybersecurity Essential for Modern Businesses?
Today, cyber threats are more prevalent and sophisticated than ever. From small businesses to large corporations, everyone is a potential target. Nearly half of UK businesses faced some form of cyber threat over the past year with potential financial, operational, and reputational damage.
Some of the primary reasons cybersecurity is essential for any business include:
- Protecting Sensitive Data: Businesses today handle vast amounts of sensitive information, including customer details, financial records, and intellectual property. Cyber Essentials ensures that we have foundational protections in place to keep this data safe.
- Meeting Regulatory Requirements: Many industries require businesses to comply with certain data protection standards. Achieving Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus certifications demonstrates that we are committed to meeting regulatory standards, ensuring compliance and enhancing trust with our clients and partners.
- Strengthening Reputation and Trust: Clients and partners rely on us to keep their data secure. By achieving Cyber Essentials Plus, we’re demonstrating our commitment to cybersecurity best practices, which helps to build a trustworthy reputation in an increasingly competitive market.
- Reducing Business Downtime: Cyber-attacks can halt operations for hours, days, or even weeks, affecting productivity and revenue. Proactively safeguarding our systems through Cyber Essentials helps mitigate these risks and ensures that our operations run smoothly.
- Avoiding Financial Loss: Data breaches can result in costly fines and loss of business. According to recent data, cybercrime costs UK businesses millions annually. By investing in cybersecurity now, we’re protecting Active-PCB and our partners from potentially significant financial losses down the line.
Cyber Essentials Plus: An Extra Layer of Assurance
While Cyber Essentials provides a solid foundation, Cyber Essentials Plus takes it further by requiring a hands-on technical audit from a third-party cybersecurity professional.
- Independent Verification: Cyber Essentials Plus requires a thorough, hands-on technical assessment by a certified cybersecurity expert. This ensures that all our safeguards are functioning effectively in real-life situations, not just on paper.
- Real-World Protection: The Cyber Essentials Plus certification confirms that Active-PCB’s defenses are actively blocking threats rather than simply listing security measures.
- Building Confidence: For our clients and partners, Cyber Essentials Plus offers additional peace of mind. You can be confident that our systems have been tested by professionals who simulate real-world attack scenarios to confirm our security measures are robust and up-to-date.
Thank You to Our IT Team: Champions of Cybersecurity!
Securing Cyber Essentials Plus required a great deal of effort and collaboration from our dedicated IT team. We extend a big thank you to Marcin, John, Tim, and Greg, whose commitment and expertise were instrumental in achieving this milestone. Their hard work ensures that we continue to offer the highest level of cybersecurity for our partners and clients.
The Road Ahead: Cybersecurity as an Ongoing Priority
While achieving Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus certifications is a significant accomplishment, cybersecurity is not a “one-and-done” task. As technology advances and threats evolve, we will continue to invest in cybersecurity measures to protect our systems, safeguard our partners’ information, and maintain our commitment to excellence.
We are proud of this achievement and even prouder of the security it provides to everyone we work with. As cybersecurity threats continue to grow in both volume and complexity, these accreditations ensure that Active-PCB is well-prepared to tackle them head-on.
