There is some really good news for small businesses. The government has opened the Cyber Essentials First Step Fund, which gives micro, small and medium businesses a 75% discount on the cost of a new Cyber Essentials certification, as long as they have not been certified in the last four years.
Cyber Essentials is the UK government backed certificate that shows your customers, suppliers and insurers you have the basic cyber security controls in place, such as firewalls, security updates, secure sign in and protection against malware. With the funding, the certification fee comes down like this:
- Micro businesses with up to 9 staff: £320 down to £80.
- Small businesses with 10 to 49 staff: £440 down to £110.
- Medium businesses with 50 to 249 staff: £500 down to £125.
These are the certification fees charged by IASME, who run Cyber Essentials for the government, and they are paid directly to IASME with VAT added on top. The fund runs until March 2027, or until the money runs out, and places are given on a first come, first served basis.
Our team can check whether your business qualifies, get your systems ready for the assessment and help you apply. You can read more on our Services page and on GOV.UK in the Cyber Essentials funding package. If you would like our team to help you apply, please email us at hello@honeycombe4.com.
This article first appeared as a post on our LinkedIn page.