Certification & compliance
Cyber Essentials & Cyber Essentials Plus — managed by Curatrix
The UK government-backed certification that proves you have the fundamental cyber-security controls in place — increasingly expected by customers, insurers and supply chains. We manage the whole journey, from readiness review to certificate, so you can show your security, not just claim it.
What you need
What you need from certification — and how we deliver it
Cyber Essentials is designed by the National Cyber Security Centre to stop the most common internet-based attacks. Getting certified is straightforward in principle — but the detail is where SMEs stall. Here's what you need from the process, and how Curatrix delivers it.
Foundation Cyber Essentials
The entry-level certification — a verified self-assessment against the scheme's controls.
How we meet it: We guide you through the official question set, help you answer it accurately for your environment, and prepare you for sign-off and assessment so you certify with confidence.
Cyber Essentials Plus
A higher level of assurance, backed by an independent, hands-on technical audit.
How we meet it: Built on the same five controls, Plus adds technical testing of your systems by a qualified assessor. We get you audit-ready and support you through the testing so the controls are verified, not just described.
Know where the gaps are first
A clear picture of what already meets the standard — and what doesn't — before you commit to assessment.
How we meet it: We run a readiness review across all five controls, mapping your current set-up against the requirements so there are no surprises on assessment day.
Fix what's holding you back
Practical help closing the gaps, not just a report that lists them.
How we meet it: We remediate the issues we find — tightening configuration, access control, patching and protection — so the controls are genuinely in place and ready to stand up to scrutiny.
The five core controls in place
The fundamental safeguards the scheme is built on, set up properly across your estate.
How we meet it: Firewalls, secure configuration, user access control, malware protection and security update management — implemented and maintained so they keep protecting you between assessments, not just on the day.
Win and keep the work
Certification is often required to bid for contracts and to satisfy customers and insurers.
How we meet it: We help you achieve and renew certification so you can demonstrate baseline security to buyers, tenders and supply chains — turning compliance into a commercial advantage.
The two levels
Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus
Both certifications cover the same five technical controls. The difference is the level of assurance — how thoroughly your controls are checked.
- Cyber Essentials — a verified self-assessment: you answer the scheme's question set and an assessor reviews it
- Cyber Essentials Plus — the same controls, with an independent hands-on technical audit to confirm they are actually working
- The certification is renewed each year, so your controls stay current
- It signals to customers and insurers that you take security seriously
What the scheme covers
- Firewalls — a security filter between the internet and your network
- Secure configuration — devices set up to minimise the ways in
- User access control — the right people, the right access, no more
- Malware protection — stopping malicious software before it does harm
- Security update management — closing known vulnerabilities promptly
From readiness to certificate
- Readiness review — we assess your environment against all five controls
- Gap report — a clear, plain-English picture of what needs to change
- Remediation — we put the missing controls in place and harden the rest
- Assessment — we prepare your answers and guide you through sign-off
- Plus audit — for Cyber Essentials Plus, we get you ready for hands-on testing
- Renewal — we keep the controls in shape so re-certifying is straightforward
How it works
Managed end to end by Curatrix
Certification can feel like a paperwork exercise bolted onto an already busy team. We take that weight off you — handling the detail, the technical work and the assessor relationship so the process runs smoothly.
Because we also deliver your managed IT and cyber security, the controls behind your certificate aren't a one-off effort. They're part of how your environment is run every day — so you stay protected between assessments, and renewal is far less of a scramble.
Why Curatrix
Why Curatrix for Cyber Essentials
Plenty of firms can point you at the question set. Fewer can put the controls genuinely in place, keep them there, and run the whole thing as part of a joined-up managed service.
Managed end to end
We own the journey from readiness review to certificate — the assessment, the technical work and the renewals — so it's one less thing for your team to project-manage.
We fix, not just flag
A gap report on its own won't pass an audit. We remediate the issues we find, so the controls are real and your environment is genuinely more secure.
Security-led specialists
Curatrix is a cyber-security specialist first. We treat certification as the visible proof of good security — not a box-ticking exercise detached from how you actually operate.
Controls that stay in shape
Because we run your IT and security day to day, the five controls are maintained year-round — not stood up for the assessment and quietly allowed to slip afterwards.
Part of one joined-up service
Certification connects to your managed IT, cyber and compliance under one roof — one accountable team, not a separate consultant working in isolation.
UK SME specialists
A Portsmouth-based team that speaks plain English and understands the realities small and mid-sized businesses face when they need to certify quickly and affordably.
Let's talk.
Book a short, no-obligation discovery call and we'll help you find the right fit for your business — with one team accountable for getting it right.