Blue Sky are feeling validated today after sailing through our Cyber Essentials Certification! Given our company wide approach to security, ISO27001 accreditation and a significant interest from all at Blue Sky in all things security related, we were quietly confident there wouldn’t be any issues but it’s always nice to get a big shiny tick! More info on the accreditation here;

The government has worked with the Information Assurance for Small and Medium Enterprises (IASME) consortium and the Information Security Forum (ISF) to develop Cyber Essentials, a set of basic technical controls for organisations to use.

The full scheme, launched on 5 June 2014, enables organisations to gain 1 of 2 new Cyber Essentials badges. It is backed by industry including the Federation of Small Businesses, the CBI and a number of insurance organisations which are offering incentives for businesses.

The Cyber Essentials Requirements document sets out the necessary technical controls. The Assurance Framework shows how the independent assurance process works and the different levels of assessment organisations can apply for to achieve the badges. It also contains guidance for security professionals carrying out the assessments.