August 15, 2023

Cyber Essentials vs ISO 27001

Choosing the right information security standard is a critical step in securing your business, and the right choice depends entirely on the needs of your business and your customers.

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In this blog post, we take a look at the internationally-recognised ISO 27001 standard, formally known as ISO/IEC 27001, and compare it with the UK government’s Cyber Essentials scheme. We discuss the differences between the two options, and how to identify which one is right for you: Cyber Essentials vs ISO 27001 or maybe both!

Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus

This is a UK only standard and there are two levels of Cyber Essentials certification: Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus. The difference between these options is that Cyber Essentials is a self-assessed certification, while Cyber Essentials Plus requires technical verification from an independent third party.

Controls

There are five controls that businesses must implement to successfully achieve Cyber Essentials certification, designed to protect devices, services, data and internet connection:

Firewalls
Secure configuration
User access control
Malware protection
Security update management

The Cyber Essentials scheme is designed to help organisations of any size, from small businesses to enterprise organisations, protect themselves against cyber threats. In addition, some government contracts require Cyber Essentials certification.

In the Cyber Essentials method, the goal is that the five basic controls will reduce the risk of 80% of common cyberattacks being successful against your business. However, it’s important to maintain and update controls as and when necessary to ensure your business protection is sustained.

Cyber Essentials vs ISO 27001 – which is right for you?

If you’re weighing up which information security standard is right for your business, consider the information security requirements of your overall operations and your target markets. Cyber Essentials is often considered a baseline for cybersecurity. As mentioned, implementation of Cyber Essentials can help to protect your organisation against around 80% of cyberattacks, setting up the foundations for security as long as your controls are regularly reviewed.

ISO 27001 requires a higher level of commitment as well as working alongside an external auditor. In line with this, the ISO 27001 framework will enable you to protect all informational and physical assets you identify as part of your information security management system. Prevention is at the core of information security, but reducing the impact of risks occurring is also crucial.

To learn more about ISO 27001 certification and how Hicomply’s software can automate and improve the process for your business, read more in our useful links section – or get in touch to speak to a member of the team. We work with an extensive partner network that can help you achieve either standard.

Useful links

Risk Management

Compliance Reporting

Policy Management

Incident Management

Audits and Assessments

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Risk Management

Identify, assess, and mitigate security risks with an integrated risk register.Hicomply’s automated risk management software maps controls across ISO 27001, SOC 2, and NIST frameworks — helping teams track risk treatment plans, assign ownership, and monitor real-time compliance status.Build a resilient ISMS that reduces audit findings and demonstrates continuous improvement.

Compliance Reporting

Generate instant, audit-ready compliance reports across multiple frameworks — from ISO 27001 and SOC 2 to GDPR, DORA, and NHS DSPT.Automated evidence collection and built-in dashboards provide a single source of truth for your compliance posture, saving weeks of manual work during audits.

Policy Management

Centralise, version, and publish all your information security policies in one place.Hicomply automates approvals, reminders, and distribution, ensuring your ISMS documentation stays current and aligned with frameworks like ISO 42001 and NIST CSF.Say goodbye to outdated PDFs — manage policies dynamically and maintain full traceability.

Incident Management

Capture, investigate, and resolve security incidents with structured workflows and automated evidence trails.Hicomply integrates with ticketing tools like Jira, Zendesk, and Azure DevOps to streamline incident response and link findings to risk and control updates — a key step for SOC 2 Type II readiness.

Audits and Assessments

Simplify internal and external audit preparation with built-in audit templates and automated task assignments.
Hicomply’s audit management platform aligns with ISO 27001, ISO 9001, and ISO 14001, giving teams a clear overview of control effectiveness, audit evidence, and corrective actions — all from one dashboard.