UK's first cyber essentials course to be held at Malvern

It follows the news that from now on only companies with this certification will be awarded new government contracts associated with personal or sensitive data.

Led by the Malvern-based IASME Consortium, one of only three accreditation bodies to deliver the certification, the course will be hosted at the NCSC from its premises in Geraldine Road.

The cyber essentials scheme was launched in June 2014, following a government review of successful cyber-attacks over the last few years. The review found that the majority of attacks would not have been successful if just five simple technical controls had been implemented, which now form the basis of the scheme.

To deliver the certification, IASME has partnered Sedena Networks to develop a bespoke course on technical auditing as assessors need to run a vulnerability assessment both internally and externally on clients’ systems.

Debbie Tunstall, manager of the NCSC, said: “We are incredibly proud to be hosting the UK’s first cyber essentials assessors course and to be home to both the course, and one of only three of the country’s accreditation bodies, is a huge landmark not just for Malvern but Worcestershire as a whole, positioning the county as a leader in the growing cyber market.”

The Cyber Essentials course does require a certain level of hands-on knowledge of networks and operating systems, so assessors are asked to make sure they are familiar with command line operating system interaction and a number of the scanning tools. The course contains numerous practical hands-on sessions and a final exam.

David Booth, director of IASME said “As an accreditation body, IASME want to ensure that assessors are suitably qualified and trained so end users receive a professional and consistent level of service.”

Cyber Essentials is available either as a self-assessment or an audited version, called Cyber Essentials PLUS. For more information about the course, or to make a booking, visit www.iasme.co.uk.