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// UK Standards

Cyber Essentials Compliance Software

UK government-backed scheme covering five technical controls: firewalls, secure configuration, access control, malware protection and patching.

Framework at a glance

Short name

Cyber Essentials

Version

Category

UK Standards

Controls

62

What Cyber Essentials covers

62 controls across 5 domains — every one tracked, owned and evidenced in Cyber Horizon.

Network Security

14 controls
  • A4.1 Boundary firewalls
  • A4.1.1 Software firewalls on all devices
  • A4.1.2 Devices without a default software firewall
  • A4.2 Change default firewall passwords
  • A4.2.1 Firewall password-change process

System Hardening

10 controls
  • A5.1 Remove unused software & services
  • A5.2 Remove unnecessary user accounts
  • A5.3 Change default account passwords
  • A5.4 External services exposing non-public data
  • A5.5 Authentication strength for external services

Vulnerability Management

16 controls
  • A6.1 Supported operating systems
  • A6.2 Supported & updated software
  • A6.2.1 Internet browser inventory
  • A6.2.2 Malware protection software inventory
  • A6.2.3 Email application inventory

Identity & Access

17 controls
  • A7.1 User account approval process
  • A7.2 Unique credentials for every account
  • A7.3 Disable accounts for leavers
  • A7.4 Least-privilege access
  • A7.5 Administrator access approval process

Endpoint Security

5 controls
  • A8.1 Malware protection on all devices
  • A8.2 Anti-malware auto-update & on-detection blocking
  • A8.3 Anti-malware web protection
  • A8.4 Restrict installation of unsigned applications
  • A8.5 Maintain an approved-application allow list

How Cyber Horizon automates Cyber Essentials

Every Cyber Essentials control lives in a shared control library, crosswalked to the other frameworks you run — evidence collected once counts everywhere it applies.

Evidence is collected automatically from your connected tools, with owners, review cadences and gaps tracked continuously instead of at audit time.

Audit packs generate on demand, and the risk register, vendor risk and threat intelligence sit in the same platform — one evidence trail across your whole programme.

Frequently asked questions

What is Cyber Essentials?

UK government-backed scheme covering five technical controls: firewalls, secure configuration, access control, malware protection and patching.

How many controls does Cyber Essentials have?

Cyber Essentials has 62 controls in Cyber Horizon's catalogue, organised across 5 domains.

How does Cyber Horizon help with Cyber Essentials?

Cyber Horizon maps Cyber Essentials into a shared control library alongside every other framework you run, so evidence collected once counts towards Cyber Essentials and everything else it overlaps with. Controls, evidence status and audit packs live in one place, with automated collection from your connected tools.

See Cyber Essentials mapped to your environment

Start with the free 20-question readiness check — no signup — or get a personal walkthrough of Cyber Essentials in Cyber Horizon.