Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus certification
UK government-backed cyber security accreditation, delivered with senior-led guidance. We help you prepare, remediate and certify with confidence.
Cyber Essentials
Cyber Essentials is the UK government-backed baseline certification that protects organisations against the most common cyber threats. It focuses on five technical controls: secure configuration, boundary firewalls, access control, malware protection, and patch management.
- Self-assessment readiness review and evidence gap analysis
- Implementation guidance for the five core controls
- Submission pack preparation and question-by-question support
- Remediation of failed responses before final submission
Cyber Essentials Plus
Cyber Essentials Plus adds independent technical verification to the baseline certification. An assessor runs vulnerability scans and checks that your controls are implemented correctly on a sample of devices, giving stakeholders and clients greater assurance.
- Pre-assessment vulnerability scanning and remediation planning
- Device and build configuration review against Plus requirements
- Assessor coordination and evidence of control effectiveness
- Post-certification roadmap to ISO 27001 or NIST CSF alignment
NCSC Cyber Assessment Framework (CAF)
Where Cyber Essentials sets a baseline, the NCSC Cyber Assessment Framework (currently version 4.0) helps organisations assess and improve their cyber security and resilience around their essential functions. It is designed for organisations operating essential services in sectors such as energy, healthcare, transport, digital infrastructure and government, and supports both internal assessments and external oversight, including the NIS Regulations, Critical National Infrastructure and GovAssure.
Performance is measured against a CAF Profile: a target level of resilience for a given level of attacker capability. The Basic Profile applies across all sectors and covers common cyber attacks; sector-specific Enhanced Profiles build on it for organisations facing more capable, better-resourced attackers. Source: NCSC Cyber Assessment Framework.
The CAF is outcome-based, organised around four objectives, 14 security principles and 41 contributing outcomes. It is highly relevant to financial services too: the Bank of England has referenced it as a framework organisations can consider using to achieve and demonstrate cyber resilience.
A1 Governance, A2 Risk Management, A3 Asset Management, A4 Supply Chain.
B1 Service Protection Policies, B2 Identity and Access Control, B3 Data Security, B4 System Security, B5 Resilient Networks and Systems, B6 Staff Awareness and Training.
C1 Security Monitoring, C2 Threat Hunting.
D1 Response and Recovery Planning, D2 Lessons Learned.
How we help with the CAF
- CAF readiness and maturity assessments
- Independent CAF gap analysis against the Basic or Enhanced Profile
- Essential function, service and dependency mapping
- Third-party and supply-chain assurance
- Incident response, recovery planning and resilience exercises
- Board reporting and prioritised remediation roadmaps
Why certify with Intelligistica?
Certification is not just a badge. It is a practical signal that your organisation takes cyber security seriously. Our consultants combine hands-on technical knowledge with board-level communication, so you pass the audit and understand the residual risk.
Clear milestones from gap analysis through to submission or assessment day.
Work directly with experienced cyber consultants and vCISOs, not junior analysts.
Use Cyber Essentials as a stepping stone to ISO 27001, NIST CSF or PCI DSS alignment.