Why it matters

Cyber Essentials certification is a mandatory requirement for many UK government contracts, especially where the work involves handling sensitive or personal information. Beyond public sector procurement, it's increasingly requested by private sector clients as a supply chain requirement, and some cyber insurance providers offer better terms to certified organisations.

More practically: the NCSC has consistently said the five controls, applied properly, would have prevented the large majority of cyber attacks it investigates. Certification is a useful external forcing function to actually get the basics done and kept up, not just a piece of paper.