IASME Cyber Assurance

Achieve excellent cyber security.

Give your clients and investors serious peace of mind. IASME Cyber Assurance is the ideal information security solution for many SMEs considering their options.

Because the Cyber Essentials scheme covers all of your business cybersecurity basics. For small and medium-sized businesses, it’s the perfect place to start.

Meanwhile, ISO 27001 is an enhanced security standard for sensitive, international industries. Achieving it is critical for some, but it can be costly and time-consuming.

Cyber Assurance sits somewhere in the middle. Meeting this standard lets you show that you meet the five key technical controls of the Cyber Essentials scheme. But it includes GDPR and security controls centred around processes and people too.

Dial A Geek includes Cyber Assurance certification as an option in our Premium Protect & Grow plan. We can help you decide if this is the right cybersecurity standard for your business’s needs.

We then do everything necessary to ensure your certification process is smooth and straightforward. As a certified Assurance accreditation provider, we handle your Level 1 certification itself in-house too.

What is IASME Cyber Assurance?

Previously called IASME Governance, the IASME Cyber Assurance scheme was developed as a cost-effective UK alternative to the ISO 27001 international standard.

No modern business can afford to skip meeting key cybersecurity standards. Recognising this, the UK government has supported the development of standards like Cyber Essentials and Cyber Assurance.

So, what is Cyber Assurance? Simply put, it’s a framework of tasks and targets that shows businesses what great cybersecurity looks like. In a world where 50% of UK businesses experience a cyber attack every year, this is incredibly valuable.

Meeting the Cyber Essentials scheme is now a requirement for bidding on government contracts. Many major organisations will not accept bids on tenders from businesses that don’t have Essentials-level cybersecurity or higher.

When it comes to your business’s cyber security, Assurance accreditation builds on Cyber Essentials to show that your approach is truly comprehensive. By the end, you will have covered data protection and privacy in addition to the basics of the Essentials scheme.

At the same time, Assurance remains an approachable and affordable option for businesses that don’t quite need to meet the high ISO 27001 standard.
The Importance of Cyber Assurance
Cyber Assurance accreditation signposts an organisation that has taken a thorough approach to information security and data protection. Cyber threats these days come in a huge range of forms. Malware. Ransomware. Phishing. Business email compromise.

If your business meets the Assurance standard, you – along with your partners, investors, clients, and other key stakeholders – will have the peace of mind of knowing that you are protected to a very high standard.

This is a great tool for attracting new clients too. Because the importance of Cyber Assurance in the wider cybersecurity landscape is increasingly recognised as an alternative to ISO 27001 by organisations that would previously have demanded the latter before partnering with you.

The Assurance standard itself includes thirteen different themed sets of requirements. These encompass access management, risk assessment, digital asset protection, planning and information security, and much more besides.

Everything you need to cover to protect and grow your business.

How We Help You Achieve Cyber Assurance Level 1 and Level 2

Rather like Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus – which are necessary prerequisites to starting the Assurance certification process – Cyber Assurance comes in two different grades.

As part of our Protect & Grow Premium package, we can help you choose the right level of Cyber Assurance for your business and do everything necessary to ensure you achieve certification the first time.

We do all of the work for you and – as a certified accreditation provider – will handle the Level 1 certification process in-house too. This makes your journey to this flexible and thorough cybersecurity standard a well-planned and easy process.

The two different IASME Cyber Assurance levels are:

IASME Cyber Assurance Level 1

Cyber Assurance Level 1 is a risk-based self-assessment of your business’s cyber and information security processes and policies. This verified process consists of a questionnaire of around 160 queries about how you operate.

This will all build on the work you will have already done building towards your Cyber Essentials certification. It will cover all of the themes required by the Assurance standard, including things like planning, staff training, and incident response.

We help you assess and adapt your information security processes so that the answers you give will meet the expectations of the scheme. We can also help you complete the questionnaire accurately.

IASME Cyber Assurance Level 2 

Level 1 is a verified self-assessment. But getting Cyber Assurance Level 2 requires an independent on-site audit of your processes and procedures relating to information security.

The audit may involve staff interviews and system configuration and documentation reviews. Again, we make sure you have everything necessary in place to pass this audit at the first time of asking.

The IASME Cyber Assurance Accreditation

Choose the affordable alternative to ISO 27001

Developed “by SMEs, for SMEs”, Cyber Assurance is more cost-effective than meeting the full ISO 27001 standard. This could potentially represent a saving of thousands of pounds.

Get recognised by the UK government

Recognised and supported by the UK government, Cyber Assurance certification builds on your Cyber Essentials work to create an even more widely recognised, superior security standard.

Showcase your commitment to data security and GDPR

Cyber Assurance accreditation includes everything required by GDPR. If you meet Cyber Assurance requirements, you are GDPR compliant as well.

Attract new business

Increasingly, IASME certification is a requirement to bid on key government and business supply chain contracts. The government and many organisations accept it as an alternative to ISO 27001.

Grow trust (as well as your business)

Show your customers, partners, and other key stakeholders that you value their data and their privacy. Your customers are more likely to trust you with their data if they know you protect it.

Dial A Geek’s Training and Services for IASME Cyber Assurance

In the past 17 years, we have helped over 1000 businesses get the best from their technology, achieving the level of cyber and information security that is right for them.

If there’s one thing we have learned in that time, it is that every business is different. That’s why you will have your own dedicated account manager (though, of course, other experts are always available!) to help you plan, prepare, and execute your path to Cyber Assurance certification.

The fact we are an approved certification provider means every aspect of your business and the requirements of the standard are considered in detail.

Our Cyber Assurance services are part of our Protect & Grow Premium package. They include extensive, technical jargon-free advice and recommendations that ensure that you will pass the self-assessment or on-site audit required by the level of the standard you are aiming for.

Dial A Geek’s expertise ensures this standard meets the actual needs of your business and that you have controls in place for all 13 themed controls required to achieve certification.

The Path to Accreditation with Dial A Geek

We don’t just train you how to work towards Cyber Assurance certification. We are a certified provider of that accreditation, so we can guide you throughout the process and certify you too.

The Cyber Assurance accreditation process sounds complex and technical. It certainly can be. But with the help of our experts, you will know whether it is the right choice for your business and have all of the guidance you need to take the right actions.

We create timelines, outline preparations that need to be made, and support you through the process before handling the certification for you.

Why not take the first step today? Set up a cost and commitment-free consultation with one of the experts who has helped our more than 1000 satisfied clients get what they need from their cybersecurity compliance journey.