As part of the National Cyber Security Centre's new scheme aimed at helping businesses protect themselves from cyber attacks, ReformIT has become the first managed service provider (MSP) in Gloucestershire to be accredited as both a Cyber Advisor and a Cyber Essentials basic and plus certification body.
This means that ReformIT, which has headquarters in the centre of Cheltenham, gains a place among an elite group of national Cyber Advisors and Cyber Essentials Certification bodies across the UK.
Having provided managed IT services and support to businesses for over 25 years, the team at ReformIT now has official status to assess and certify businesses as Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus compliant.
Industry insider chat has recently revealed the possibility that a Cyber Essentials certificate may soon become compulsory for certain businesses, with some in the finance and manufacturing sectors already being asked to get officially certified.
Research for the government shows that cyber attacks and data breaches have spiked prominently in recent years, with 18 per cent more businesses in the UK being targeted in the last 12 months, compared to the year before — with phishing emails the most common threat to a company's IT system.
Neil Smith, managing director at ReformIT, said: 'It’s a real honour to have ReformIT recognised as both a Cyber Essentials Certification Body and a Cyber Advisor. This means that we are the only firm locally to be able to offer complete end-to-end government approved security assessment and certification under one roof; from a cyber security gap analysis, hands-on implementation, to NCSC Cyber Essentials certification.
'Previously, Cyber Essentials certification tended to be more for the very large and complex organisations, often from the finance or defence sector, but now with digital transformation top of every company’s agenda, basic cyber security is critical for any sized business or industry. The security of all companies contributes to the protection of UK national security, while being Cyber Essentials certified opens doors to government and public sector contracts that previously could have been out of reach.
'Cyber security is a tricky thing to get right if you don’t already know how or have a trusted advisor on your side; the fact of the matter is that nobody is off limits when it comes to organised cyber-crime, whether you are a small business or a larger enterprise. As an MSP, we get under the bonnet of a business and its IT infrastructure; conducting an MOT of sorts to ensure that the wheels keep turning without any nasty surprises along the way.'
