Cyber Essentials
Cyber Essentials Certification
Cyber threats don’t just target large enterprises. Small and medium-sized businesses are increasingly vulnerable to ransomware, phishing, and data breaches. That is why the Cyber Essentials scheme was set up by the UK government and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) to help organisations of all sizes strengthen their defences against the most common attacks.
What is Cyber Essentials?
Cyber Essentials is a government-backed cyber certification scheme that proves your organisation is following essential cybersecurity practices. It centers on five key controls that help protect against the majority of basic cyber threats:
- Firewalls and Internet gateways
- Secure configuration of systems and software
- User access control and management
- Antivirus tools and malware protection
- Patch management and software updates
There are two levels of certification:
Cyber Essentials: this is a self-assessment that’s verified by an external certifying body
Cyber Essentials Plus: this includes an independent technical audit of your systems and controls
Why get Cyber Essentials certified?
Reduce risk: Implement a strong security foundation that protects against common cyber attacks.
Demonstrate trust: Show customers, suppliers, and partners that you take data protection and security seriously.
Meet the requirements for government contracts: For many UK government and MOD contracts, the Cyber Essentials is a prerequisite to bidding.
Support compliance: Supports GDPR obligations and aligns with ISO 27001 and other best-practice frameworks.
Gain a competitive edge: Use certification to differentiate your business in security-sensitive markets.
How Arc helps you achieve certification
We simplify the Cyber Essentials journey with a structured, guided approach:
Gap Analysis and Pre-Assessment: We analyse your present position, pinpointing areas that need improvement prior to submission.
Remediation support: Our technical team provides support for implementing necessary changes, ranging from configuration updates to policy adjustments.
Self-assessment submission assistance: We guide you through the process and ensure accurate documentation and evidence are provided.
Cyber Essentials Plus support: For the advanced certification, we co-ordinate the audit and help prepare your systems for review.
Ongoing compliance and maintenance: Once certified, we help maintain your compliance posture with continuous monitoring and advisory services.
Our numbers always add up
Numbers, as they say, never lie. Here are some that all add up to why you should be using Arc when it comes to managed IT support.
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Number of tickets
Our total number of helpdesk tickets logged across 2025
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First response met across 2025
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