Cyber Essentials for Financial Services

Why financial services firms and IFAs get certified

Financial services firms handle money, sensitive personal data and regulated advice, under an FCA regime that expects robust operational resilience. Networks, providers, clients and insurers increasingly want Cyber Essentials as evidence of the baseline.

Operational resilience expectations. Regulatory expectations on managing technology and cyber risk keep rising; Cyber Essentials evidences the technical baseline.
Network and provider requirements. IFA networks, platforms and providers increasingly require Cyber Essentials from member firms.
Client and PII scrutiny. Clients and professional-indemnity insurers ask about cyber security before doing business.
Money and fraud. Firms that move client money are prime targets; certification covers the common attack routes.

The security benefit is real and worth having. But the honest reason most financial services firms and IFAs certify is commercial: work, funding or clients increasingly depend on it.

Prepared properly, passed first time

We scope it with you, tell you plainly what needs to change, and prepare a clean submission so you pass first time rather than paying to resubmit. You are guided by a certified IASME assessor for both Cyber Essentials and Cyber Assurance, someone who knows exactly what the assessment checks, not an account manager and not a junior with a checklist.

Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus

Cyber Essentials is a verified self-assessment against five technical controls, certified annually. Cyber Essentials Plus covers the same five controls but adds an independent, hands-on technical audit of your systems: the level a growing number of buyers now specify. We will tell you which one your buyers actually require, rather than pushing the higher tier by default.

What it covers

Five controls that block the great majority of commodity attacks: firewalls, secure configuration, security update management, user access control, and malware protection. Straightforward for most organisations, provided someone tells you honestly what needs changing before you submit.

How it works

Certification is largely remote, so it adds no travel to your invoice. We agree the scope with you, we help you get the controls in order and support you through the assessment on the IASME portal. Where Cyber Essentials Plus applies, the technical audit is scheduled around you. Turnaround is days rather than weeks when your controls are already in order.

Where it fits

For most financial services firms and IFAs Cyber Essentials is the right first step. Where clients or funders want evidence of more than the baseline, Cyber Assurance is the next rung and stands in for ISO 27001 at SME cost. If you hold anything genuinely sensitive, test it with a proper penetration test.

Common questions

Does Cyber Essentials help with FCA expectations?

It does not replace your regulatory obligations, but it evidences the technical baseline the FCA lens, your network and your PII insurer expect, and it answers most client and provider security questionnaires in one line.

Do we need Cyber Essentials or Cyber Essentials Plus?

Whatever your buyer specifies. Many requirements accept Cyber Essentials; larger clients, primes and some public bodies require the audited Plus. We check the actual wording rather than pushing the higher tier by default.

How quickly can we be certified?

If your controls are already in order, Cyber Essentials can often be turned around within days. If they are not, we tell you exactly what to fix first. See our urgent certification page if you are against a deadline.

How do you actually help us get certified?

We scope it with you, tell you plainly what needs to change, help you close the gaps, and — with a certified IASME assessor for both schemes guiding you on exactly what the assessment checks — get you through it first time rather than resubmitting.