Praesto Group has achieved Cyber Essentials Plus, the highest level of the UK government’s Cyber Essentials scheme. The certification covers the whole organisation: Praesto Consulting Group and its companies, including Carruthers and Jackson, Bright Frog and Boxfusion.
What is Cyber Essentials?
Cyber Essentials is a UK government-backed scheme, overseen by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). It sets out the controls every organisation should have in place against the most common cyber attacks, such as phishing, malware and password guessing. It covers five areas:
- firewalls
- secure configuration
- user access control
- malware protection
- keeping software up to date
For readers outside the UK, think of it as the government’s own baseline for good cyber security. Many UK public sector contracts require it, and more and more private-sector organisations ask their suppliers for it too.
Why “Plus” matters
There are two levels. Cyber Essentials is a self-assessment that is checked by a certification body. Cyber Essentials Plus goes further: an independent assessor tests our systems directly. The assessor checks a sample of our laptops, phones and cloud accounts, scan for vulnerabilities, and test whether malicious emails and downloads are blocked. Every device tested must pass. The certification must also be renewed every year, and it requires security updates rated high or critical to be applied within 14 days of release.
Part of our commitment to cyber security
Our consultants work inside our clients’ finance, data and CRM systems, so protecting information is part of the job, not an add-on. Cyber Essentials Plus gives clients independent assurance that the devices and accounts we use for that work meet a standard the UK government trusts. We bring the same discipline to the solutions we design and deliver: secure access, careful configuration and responsible handling of data.
It builds on the Cyber Essentials certification we first achieved in 2019, and sits alongside our ISO 27001 certification, which covers how we manage information security across our consultancy services.