Has The Cyber Essentials scheme been updated?

Yes, the Cyber Essentials Scheme was updated on 28 April 2025 to reflect the evolving nature of cyber threats (increasing adoption of cloud services) and our changing working practices, (particularly the trend towards home working and hybrid working).

With these changes, Cyber Essentials is placing greater emphasis on certain security controls, such as the use of multi-factor authentication, password management and the need to apply ‘critical’ or ‘high-risk’ software update fixes within 14 days of release.

URM has written a blog Cyber Essentials – What’s Changing in 2025? summarising all of the changes that were made to the scheme and addresses questions such as:

  • What Were The Key Changes?
  • What Changes Will I See When Completing The Questionnaire?
  • Were Any Changes Made To Cyber Essentials Plus?
Our experience with URM was all around great and seamless, starting with our account manager who organised everything and was very accommodating, working around our schedule and fitting us in as soon as we wanted. This continued with our assessor for the CE questionnaire part; he was very helpful, taking the time to explain some aspects that were a bit unclear to me and guiding me the whole way through. The same was true of our assessor for the CE+, who took the time to answer any questions I had beforehand and guide me through elements that I was unfamiliar with. During the assessment, he was very helpful, made the process very easy and guided me through some points that needed some additional set up in order to ensure a successful process. This was our first year working with URM and I am sure we’ll be talking again next year. Thank you for all your help!
IT Security Services Provider
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Cyber Essentials Questions Answered: Technical Requirements, BYOD Compliance and the Future of the Scheme

Published on
5 Jun
2026

URM’s blog answers key questions about CE, focusing specifically on its technical requirements, use of BYOD, and how the scheme may change in the future.

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Cyber Security
Published on
5/6/2026
Complying with Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus

URM’s blog answers key technical questions about Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus, what’s in scope, CE compliant use of BYOD, and more.

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Cyber Security
Published on
5/6/2026
Cyber Essentials – What’s Changing in 2025?

URM’s blog discusses upcoming changes to Cyber Essentials, including the changes seen in the Willow Question Set and how they may impact your organisation.

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Thumbnail of the Blog Illustration
Cyber Security
Published on
5/6/2026
Access Control, Administrative Accounts and Password-Based Authentication in the Cyber Essentials SAQ

URM’s blog offers advice on answering questions in the Cyber Essentials SAQ which relate to access control, admin accounts and authentication methods.

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I know many Cyber Essentials providers are rigid to the point of not understanding the goal of CE, but we haven’t found that with URM. We are extremely happy with the service we’ve received – our Cyber Essentials recertifications are always painless and straightforward. The different assessors we’ve had have all been great and pitch to the right level, as well as having an extremely strong knowledge of the subject matter. The account management side is also excellent. Our Account Manager checks in with us on a regular basis, and is very approachable and credible, with a comprehensive understanding of Cyber Essentials.
CISO at University of Surrey
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