Summary: Vodafone has become the first multinational organisation to have been awarded the Government’s new cyber security accreditation, Cyber Essentials Plus.
The UK government launched its Cyber Essentials security scheme in June as a way for companies that handle personal data to demonstrate that they are secure and trustworthy. There are two levels of accreditation: Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus.
The scheme certifies that an organisation has met a number of stringent criteria to help protect the organisation’s information and IT systems against cyber attacks. It outlines the basic controls all organisations should implement to mitigate the risk from common internet based threats.
The Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation, achieved by Vodafone, offers a higher level of assurance through the external testing of an organisation’s cyber security approach. To achieve the accreditation, Vodafone UK’s customer and internal information and IT systems were tested by auditors for compliance to the new standard and had to reach a 100% pass rate.
Ed Vaizey, Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy, said: “Protecting personal data depends on good cyber security, and the threats and challenges are getting ever more sophisticated. Organisations need to take cyber security seriously, so it’s reassuring that Vodafone UK has taken the lead to become the first telecommunications provider in the UK to have achieved the Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation.
“Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus enable businesses to demonstrate that they are taking action to control the risks – critical if they are to protect themselves, their customers and their brand.”
The wider security market is varied and has been booming in recent years. In total, 7165 opportunities relating to security were published by Defence Contracts International in 2013, of which 1844 (25%) were directly related to the cyber sector.
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