Cyber Advisor (Cyber Essentials Implementation)
What is Cyber Advisor?
Cyber Advisor is a targeted consultancy scheme aimed primarily at small organisations.
Such organisations often lack in-house expertise or easy access to qualified people who can help them to secure their networks. And, because they often have limited time and funds to invest in security, it can be hard for a small organisation, whether it’s a business, a school or a charity, to know where to focus what resources they do have.
Cyber Advisors will provide cost-effective advice and, where required, hands-on help to implement the five Cyber Essentials Technical Controls. NCSC are calling them Cyber Advisors (Cyber Essentials) to differentiate them from any future Cyber Advisors offering a different ‘specialism’.
Why link it to Cyber Essentials?
NCSC believe that the Cyber Essentials Technical Controls mitigate the majority of high volume, low-skill attacks perpetrated through the Internet. Therefore, one of the easiest ways to make the UK more secure is to help organisations to implement the Technical Controls at scale across the UK.
Under the new scheme those organisations who have a qualified Cyber Advisor on their staff will be able to apply to become an NCSC Assured Service Provider. Only organisations which become Assured Service Providers and employ a qualified Cyber Advisor will be able to offer NCSC assured Cyber Advisor services to customers.
There are approximately 20 companies ready to offer the Cyber Advisor (Cyber Essentials) service in every nation of the UK and in the Channel Islands. The aim is for many hundreds more companies and Advisors to become certified, allowing UK organisations to protect themselves against future threat. For more information on the Cyber Advisor scheme, or to view a full list of assured Cyber Advisor providers please visit IASME’s webpage.
Please click the buttons at the top of this page to discover how The Cyber Scheme are supporting this scheme, and detailed information on how to apply to become a Cyber Advisor.
Book your Cyber Advisor (Cyber Essentials Implementation) assessment here.
£600 +VAT
FAQs
It can be difficult for small organisations to know who to turn to for reliable cyber security advice. The following information has been provided by the NCSC to help buyers and service providers.
All Cyber Advisors must work for a company which has met the NCSC’s standards and been accepted as an Assured Service Provider.
This means that Cyber Advisors have met the NCSC standard and have passed an assessment. By choosing a Cyber Advisor through one of our Assured Service Providers, you can have confidence that they have met the NCSC standard. They will have had to demonstrate a proven track record of delivering high quality customer service and tailored advice to meet an organisation’s particular needs.
When choosing a provider, a business may wish to consider whether they have the relevant experience in the sectors they operate in, or in the technology that they use.
There is no recommended price for assured Cyber Advisors to charge. Each job will vary dependent upon the size of the organisation and the complexity of their IT.
The Cyber Advisor scheme provides small and medium sized organisations with reliable and cost effective cyber security advice and practical support.
The scheme allows the NCSC to recommend independently assured organisations to consumers, so they can have confidence in buying cyber security advice. For those companies already doing this type of work, the Cyber Advisor scheme aims to recognise competence of advisors under the NCSC Cyber Advisor (Cyber Essentials) scheme.
These advisors will then provide advice and guidance to Micro, Small and Medium (SME) businesses who wish to implement cyber security controls to a level equivalent to Cyber Essentials but do not possess the internal skills to implement them.
The certification of advisors aims to ensure that they provide a consistent level of advice and provide SME businesses with the ability to identify competent advisors.
To offer NCSC assured Cyber Advisor services, your organisation will need to become an Assured Service Provider registered with our scheme delivery partner, IASME.
You will also need to employ at least one formally assessed Cyber Advisor. Similarly, a Cyber Advisor must have passed the assessment and be employed by an Assured Service Provider before they can offer NCSC assured Cyber Advisor services.
Companies of any size can apply to join the scheme and we welcome those located in or serving geographically remote or underrepresented areas.
When applying to be an Assured Service Provider, organisations will be expected to meet requirements demonstrating good cyber security and a commitment to achieving an excellent and consistent customer experience. You will also need to have Cyber Essentials certification.
