Cyber Essentials is a government backed scheme providing organisations with the knowledge and verification to implement best practice to protect their data, networks and digital assets from cyber attack.
There are two levels of accreditation – Cyber Essentials and the more advanced, Cyber Essentials Plus. The Plus accreditation provides additional assurance that certified organisations have independently verified cyber security measures adhering to the latest best practice guidelines.
Siobhan Wolfe, Director of Finance & Corporate Services who led the project said “I was delighted that ASCERT completed our Cyber Essentials Plus assessment with flying colours, demonstrating our commitment to mitigating the risk of cyber or other online attacks ensuring the safety of our data and those of our service users”
Chief Executive Officer Gary McMichael acknowledged the hard work undertaken by Siobhan and her project team to achieve the accreditation, which very few charities are able to attain.
He continued “Over the past number of years ASCERT like many other charities are increasingly reliant on technological and digital tools in their daily operations, delivering the best support possible to service users. In the background, cyber criminals are continually honing their attacking and infiltration skills, so achieving Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation offers enormous peace of mind to our staff, service users and key stakeholders in knowing that our systems adhere to the latest and best possible cyber security standards. I am immensely grateful to everyone involved in achieving this and give special thanks to Zenith IT Solutions for supporting Siobhan and her team through the process”