Vulnerability Testing For Cyber Essentials

Vulnerability testing

As a CREST-accredited certification body, we offer an added level of independent assurance by conducting an external vulnerability scan on your Internet-facing networks and applications. This scan will help you to verify that there are no obvious vulnerabilities present.

This level of testing assesses your vulnerability to broad, untargeted, and unsophisticated attacks.

The following external tests are required for CREST-accredited Cyber Essentials certification:

• Scan of external TCP ports and top UDP services
• Vulnerability scan
• Basic web application scan

In 2020, the NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre) will implement some changes to the Cyber Essentials scheme to prepare it for the future. The current five Cyber Essentials accreditation bodies will be replaced by one. From 1 April 2020, The IASME Consortium will operate as the sole accreditation body for the scheme.

In support of this change, IT Governance will become an IASME-accredited certification body from April next year. We will continue providing the high level of cost-effective ongoing service our clients expect from us and will ensure the transition to the new arrangements is seamless. In the meantime, and in line with current arrangements supported by the NCSC, our clients will continue to be certified under CREST, and all existing and new certifications will continue to be valid and in line with current requirements.

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Vulnerability testing for Cyber Essentials Plus Certification

Organizations seeking certification to Cyber Essentials Plus require an additional series of internal vulnerability tests.

These tests can be described as an authenticated internal scan and a test of the security and anti-malware configuration of each device type/build.

The internal scan checks patch levels and system configurations, while the security and anti-malware test ensures that the organization’s systems are resistant to malicious email attachments and web-downloadable binaries. Because the tests are internal, the tests will be performed on-site by a qualified tester.

The following internal tests are required for Cyber Essentials Plus:

1. Inbound email binaries and payloads
2. Inbound emails containing URLs linking to binaries and browser exploitation payloads
3. Authenticated vulnerability and patch verification scan

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Test reports

After completing the tests, we will issue a report stating the outcomes and explaining what actions, if any, should be taken to eliminate any risks or vulnerabilities. Our reports aim to give customers meaningful information about risks to their organization and activities.

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Repeat testing

If the external or internal vulnerability tests are failed, we will provide a list of actions necessary to repeat the tests before a certificate can be awarded.