OUR SERVICES: Cyber Essentials Certification in Brighton & Sussex
Get your business Cyber Essentials certified with hands-on support from AJT Managed IT Services
Cyber Essentials is the UK government’s recommended baseline for cyber security. For many Brighton and Sussex businesses, Cyber Essentials is becoming a requirement to win new contracts, satisfy insurers and reassure clients. We help businesses across Sussex get certified, with first readiness checks, submissions, and technical audits for Cyber Essentials Plus.
Now is the time to get certified
Your business may be entitled to a government-funded 75% discount on your Cyber Essentials assessment if:
What is Cyber Essentials and why is it important?
Cyber Essentials is the government-backed certification scheme that verifies your business has fundamental technical controls in place to guard against the most common internet-based cyber attacks:
- Firewalls
- Secure configuration
- Security update management (patching)
- User access control
- Malware protection
According to the government’s own Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2025/26, just 5% of UK businesses currently hold the certification, yet 65% of medium-sized businesses reported experiencing a cyber breach or attack in the past 12 months. Getting certified not only helps reduce your cyber security risk but can also put you ahead of your competitors.
Trusted by businesses in Brighton and Sussex
We’re already trusted by businesses across Sussex for proactive, hands-on IT support and Cyber Essentials certification, including firms in regulated sectors like financial services and legal, such as:
Cyber Essentials vs Cyber Essentials Plus: What’s the difference?
Both certifications cover the same five technical controls. The difference between the two is how your compliance is verified and the level of assurance that provides.
Cyber Essentials
Cyber Essentials is a self-assessment. You (or we, on your behalf) complete a detailed questionnaire about your security controls, which is then signed off by a board-level representative. An independent assessor then checks it against the scheme’s requirements before issuing the certification. It’s often the route most companies take first as it’s a strong, accessible starting point for most small and medium businesses.
- Self-assessment
- Independently reviewed
- Common starting point for small and medium businesses
Cyber Essentials Plus
Cyber Essentials Plus builds on the same five controls in Cyber Essentials (firewalls, secure configuration, security update management, user access control and malware protection). Instead of a self-assessment, a qualified assessor runs vulnerability scans against your systems and carries out on-site or remote checks. It provides a higher level of assurance because your controls are verified in practice rather than just described. Many NHS, government and larger corporate supply chains require Cyber Essentials Plus.
- Assessed by qualified assessor
- Vulnerability scans & checks carried out
- Can be required by NHS, government and corporate supply chains
Both certifications last 12 months and need renewing annually.
Which one does your business need?
Choose Cyber Essentials if: you want to strengthen your baseline security, reassure clients or insurers, or take your first step toward formal certification.
Choose Cyber Essentials Plus if: a tender, contract or supply chain requirement specifically asks for it, or if you want independently verified proof that your controls work in practice.
If you’re not sure which applies to you, we’re happy to talk it through with you.
Why get IT expert support for Cyber Essentials?
Cyber Essentials may be a self-assessment, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to get right. The questionnaire asks detailed, technical questions, for example:
- Exactly how your firewalls are configured
- Whether every device and cloud service you use is correctly scoped
- How quickly patches are applied across your business
- Whether multi-factor authentication is set up correctly
Answering any of the questions incorrectly or scoping your assessment wrong risks failing on a technicality, or even passing with real, undetected gaps in your security.
To help get your business certified, we’ll handle the technical detail on your behalf. We’ll confirm what’s in scope, check your current setup against the five controls, close any existing gaps before you submit, and make sure your answers reflect the actual state of your business.
For Cyber Essentials Plus, expert support matters even more. If the assessor’s vulnerability scans or on-site checks find an issue with your business, you will have 30 days to fix and resubmit. We work with you to prepare your environment ahead of the audit and coordinate the assessment around your business, so issues get caught and fixed before they can show up as failures on the day.
Cyber Essentials is a strong start – but it’s not the end
Cyber Essentials closes off common ways attackers get in and is a solid starting point, but it won’t protect you against all the modern, ever-evolving cyber security threats out there.
The certification checks that five baseline controls are in place at a point in time. However, it doesn’t include continuous monitoring, it doesn’t test how your business would respond to an active attack, and it won’t catch more advanced threats on its own. As cyber attacks continue to evolve, we recommend pairing Cyber Essentials with ongoing protection like MDR, XDR, cyber security training and regular penetration testing to catch and respond to threats as they happen.
Why choose AJT Managed IT Services for Cyber Essentials certification?
We’ll do the heavy lifting
The technical requirements can be a lot to take on alongside everything else your business demands. We’ll handle the assessment process for you, close any gaps and guide you through the submission process so you can concentrate on your day-to-day.
Local in-person IT support across Sussex
We’re a Brighton-based team already trusted by businesses across Sussex for proactive, hands-on IT support and Cyber Essentials certification, including firms in regulated sectors like financial services and legal.
Ongoing cyber security support
As your managed IT partner, we can help make sure the controls behind your certification stay in place year-round, not just at renewal time, with our cyber security services.
Right-sized for your business
Whether you’re a 20-seat business taking your first step toward certification or a 200-seat organisation preparing for Cyber Essentials Plus, we’ll scope the work around your business needs.
More Brighton & Sussex Cyber Security services from AJT
Browse our cyber security services & learn more about how proactive, layered protection can help you do better business.
Cyber security
Protect your business with cyber security software, MDR, EDR and XDR.
Penetration testing
Find out how far an attacker could get in your business before a real one tries.
IT Support
If you’re looking for proactive IT support that minimises downtime, we’re the partner you need.
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