Connex Education Partnership and Bluestones Medical have both now secured their Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation, in another important milestone for the Bluestones Group and its portfolio of brands.

With the businesses being holders and processors of sensitive personal information and other data, they must ensure they’re adequately prepared and fully secure. Although already operating to the highest standards, this Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation demonstrates the security levels they’re working to, and that the businesses have now passed their independently assessed Technical Audits.

As education and healthcare businesses, many of their clients operate within the public sector, and increasingly, cyber security compliance and holding suitable accreditations are now prerequisites for suppliers.

Cyber Essentials is a comprehensive framework from the Government’s National Cyber Security Centre that covers five technical control themes:

1. Firewalls
2. Secure configuration
3. User access control
4. Malware protection
5. Security update management

Group IT manager, Alison Drew commented,

“Managing the technical infrastructure and security requirements of our diverse portfolio of geographically spread businesses can be challenging at times, but we’ve got the right people, policies and technology in place to ensure we’re compliant, secure and operating efficiently”.

Many other brands within the Bluestones Group portfolio are already accredited to the level one Cyber Essentials accreditation, which has the “simplicity of approach” and protections required but without the hands-on technical verification required for Cyber Essentials Plus. Over time, the Group’s IT team is working to ensure all brands within the Group’s portfolio have Cyber Essentials or Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation in place.

More information about Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus is available HERE.