How to Prepare for Your Cyber Essentials Plus Audit (Without Losing Your Sanity)

Introduction

Congratulations, you’ve decided to take the plunge into Cyber Essentials Plus! You’re about to embark on a journey that’s part treasure hunt, part spring cleaning, and part performance review all rolled into one cybersecurity adventure.

Think of Cyber Essentials Plus as the difference between telling your friends you can cook and actually having Gordon Ramsay show up in your kitchen to watch you make dinner.

Standard Cyber Essentials is the friendly chat where you say “yes, I totally keep my systems updated.” Cyber Essentials Plus is when someone actually checks your laptop and discovers that Adobe Flash update you’ve been ignoring since 2019.

If you want to learn more about the differences between Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus, you’re in luck, cause we have an article all about it!

What Makes a Cyber Essentials Plus Audit Different: Third-Party Verification

Here’s where things get interesting. 

Unlike its laid-back cousin (regular Cyber Essentials), Cyber Essentials Plus brings a detective to the party.

This certified assessor isn’t content with your word; they want receipts. They’ll poke around your systems, run vulnerability scans, and basically become the cybersecurity equivalent of a very thorough customs officer.

But here’s the thing, this isn’t meant to be a gotcha moment. It’s more like having a personal trainer for your IT security. Sure, they’re going to make you sweat a bit, but you’ll come out stronger on the other side.

Cyber Essentials Plus Audit Timeline: The Critical Three-Month Window

Picture this: you’ve just passed your basic Cyber Essentials (cue celebratory coffee), and now you have exactly three months to get your Cyber Essentials Plus audit done. Miss this window, and it’s back to square one faster than you can say “password123.”

This timing rule has created more drama than a reality TV show. Organisations everywhere have found themselves in the cybersecurity equivalent of Cinderella’s situation, except instead of turning into a pumpkin at midnight, their certification expires, and they have to start the whole process over again.

The secret? Don’t celebrate too early. Think of your basic Cyber Essentials as the trailer for the main event, not the finale.

Cyber Essentials Plus Preparation: Getting Your Digital House in Order

The golden rule of Cyber Essentials Plus is simple: don’t start until you’re ready to finish. It’s like cleaning your house before the in-laws visit—you want everything spotless before they ring the doorbell.

Cyber Essentials Plus Asset Management: The Great Device Census

Time for some detective work! You need to know exactly what technology is lurking in your organisation. This isn’t just counting laptops, it’s about creating a complete family tree of every device that connects to your network.

Think you know all your devices? Plot twist! There’s probably a forgotten tablet in someone’s desk drawer and a laptop that’s been “temporarily” working from home since 2020. Find them all. The auditor certainly will.

Cyber Essentials Plus Patch Management: The Update Game

Remember those software updates you keep postponing? The ones that pop up at the most inconvenient moments? Well, it’s payback time. Your auditor is going to scan your systems with the thoroughness of a suspicious airport security guard.

The good news? Once you get into a proper update routine, you’ll sleep better knowing you’re not running on digital duct tape and hope.

Want to learn more about patch management? Check out our article on the importance of keeping operating systems updated.

Cyber Essentials Plus Software Management: Marie Kondo Meets IT

Time to channel your inner Marie Kondo and ask: “Does this software spark joy… or at least serve a business purpose?” If you can’t remember why you installed something, and it hasn’t been used since the last World Cup, it’s probably time to say goodbye.

Cyber Essentials Plus: How Organisation Size Impacts Your Audit

Here’s a case where being smaller is actually better. If you’re a compact team with matching laptops all running the same setup, you’ve basically won the cybersecurity lottery. The auditor can test one representative device and call it a day.

But if your organisation looks like a technology museum with Windows 7 machines sitting next to the latest MacBooks, well… that’s going to be a longer conversation with your auditor.

Cyber Essentials Plus Audit Cost: The Great Pricing Mystery

Brace yourself for one of cybersecurity’s greatest mysteries: pricing. You might get quotes ranging from £900 to £6,000 for essentially the same service. It’s like shopping for wedding venues! Somehow, the word “audit” has the same magical price-inflating power as the word “wedding.”

The variation usually comes down to how much hand-holding you want. Some providers offer the cybersecurity equivalent of IKEA furniture (basic service, some assembly required), while others provide the full concierge experience.

The choice is entirely up to you.

Cyber Essentials Plus Assessor Options: Choose Your Own Adventure

You’ve got options, each with its own risk-reward profile:

The Confident Route: Basic assessment for organisations that have their act together. It’s cheaper, faster, and perfect if you’re genuinely prepared.

The Safety Net Option: Consultancy support for those who want a cybersecurity sherpa to guide them through the process. Costs more, but you get expert advice along the way.

The Insurance Policy: Guaranteed pass option for organisations that want to sleep soundly knowing they’ll get their certification no matter what. Although the most expensive option, it comes with peace of mind and unlimited do-overs.

Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus certifications have to be renewed every year, so it might make sense to start with the insurance policy and work backwards as you become more comfortable with the process.

Common Cyber Essentials Plus Audit Mistakes (AKA What Not to Do)

The most common mistake? Treating Cyber Essentials Plus like it’s a standard Cyber Essentials certificate. It’s the difference between telling people you can drive and actually taking your driving test with an instructor sitting next to you with a clipboard.

Another favourite blunder is the “optimistic scope creep,” i.e., including every device in your office because more sounds better, right? Wrong. It’s better to have a smaller, well-maintained scope than to include that ancient server in the corner that’s held together by hope and cable ties. Cyber Essentials Plus will undoubtedly have you doing the IT equivalent of a spring clean.

The Payoff: Why This Actually Matters

Sure, sometimes Cyber Essentials Plus is mandatory for government contracts or major partnerships. Many businesses have found that hundreds of millions in funding/revenue can depend on having this certification. No pressure there.

But even when it’s optional, there’s something satisfying about having an independent expert confirm that your cybersecurity isn’t just smoke and mirrors. It’s like getting a clean bill of health from your doctor. You feel pretty good about yourself afterwards.

The Final Countdown

Preparing for Cyber Essentials Plus doesn’t have to feel like preparing for the apocalypse. 

Yes, it requires some work upfront, and yes, someone is going to thoroughly examine your digital life, but think of it as the cybersecurity equivalent of finally organising that junk drawer everyone has. It’s painful while you’re doing it, but incredibly satisfying once it’s done.

The audit process might seem daunting, but remember: the auditor isn’t there to trick you or catch you out. They want you to succeed. Their job is to verify that your cybersecurity fundamentals are solid, not to play cybersecurity gotcha.

So take a deep breath, get your digital house in order, and remember, at the end of this process, you’ll have independently verified proof that your organisation knows how to handle the cybersecurity basics. In a world where data breaches make headlines daily, that’s actually pretty impressive.

Now, about that three-month deadline…