What Cyber Essentials is

Cyber Essentials is a UK government-backed scheme, launched in 2014, that helps organisations protect themselves against the most common internet-based cyber attacks. It's built around five technical controls that, together, address the bulk of opportunistic, automated attacks that don't rely on a skilled human attacker targeting you specifically.

The scheme is overseen by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and delivered on its behalf by IASME, which accredits a network of certification bodies to assess applicants and issue certificates.

Cyber Essentials isn't trying to defend against every possible threat. It's a baseline: get these five things right, consistently, and you close off the paths that most attacks actually use.