Andy Grant, IT Manager at Resonance explains our recent 'Cyber Essentials Plus' certification. In this blog, he talks about how he and his colleague Barry Elms supported Resonance through the process of taking the steps to achieve certification.

What is Cyber Essentials?

Cyber Essentials is a government-backed scheme that ensures a set of basic technical controls are in place that protect against common online security threats and cyber-attacks.

There are two levels of certification:

1) Cyber Essentials 

2) Cyber Essentials Plus

Cyber Essentials (tier one) can be achieved through self-assessment, which provides protection from the most common cyber-attacks.

Resonance has gone one step further to acquire the Cyber Essentials Plus (tier two) certification. Resonance’s IT team participated in a rigorous process with a qualified assessor to demonstrate a resilient defence against cyber threats and a safe digital environment for our internal organisation and wider networks.

Why is it important to be certified?

In an era dominated by digital advancements, the importance of securing our company's sensitive information and digital assets cannot be overstated. The advancement of digital devices has revolutionised our work processes, but it has also amplified security risks. To address this challenge, we have explored an array of cutting-edge security measures and technologies, to help us ensure a resilient defence against cyber threats.

Our adoption of Jamf’s Zero Trust VPN gives remote workers secure access to corporate resources regardless of their location. This has added an extra layer of protection to every one of our online devices, treating all online connections as potentially unsafe unless verified.

Two-factor authentication (2FA) has been universally enforced throughout Resonance. Alongside 2FA we are prioritising real-time malware protection through Malwarebytes managed by DataJar Defend, which guards against malware, ransomware, and other threats. 

Recognising the persistent risk of phishing attacks, we have also reinforced our email security with multiple layers of authentication and validation checks to detect and safely quarantine or block malicious emails.

What does this mean for our partners and suppliers?

Achieving certification demonstrates Resonance’s commitment to meeting strict security standards to protect our partners and suppliers. 

Certification has validated our efforts - not just for our cybersecurity measures - but also our dedication to secure digital infrastructure, to substantially reduce our vulnerability to potential attacks. The Cyber Essentials Plus certification will offer reassurance to our employees, clients and partners that Resonance protects the confidentiality and accessibility of data stored on all our company devices.