The IASME is an Information Assurance (IA) standard that has been designed to improve the cybersecurity of the SMEs while keeping it simple and affordable. The governance controls of the IASME Governance are in alignment with the Cyber Essentials scheme, and therefore the certification of the IASME includes the Cyber Essentials Certification.
The IASME governance standard helps the small companies to demonstrate the level of their cybersecurity against a realistic cost while indicating that the company is taking good enough steps to safeguard the information of its customers. The IASME governance includes both the cyber essentials assessment and the GDPR requirements which is available as an on-site Audit or a self-assessment.
The IASME standard has been developed over the years in order to create a cyber-security standard that is attainable for the smaller companies. The ISO27001 which is the international standard while being comprehensive turns out to be extremely challenging for the smaller companies to achieve and maintain.
The IASME standard is designed along the same line as ISO27001 but with consideration to the smaller companies. Let’s talk about the IASME Gold standard designed on the baseline compliance of the international standard.
What is IASME Gold Certificate?
The Gold Standard of IASME is aligned with the international standard, ISO27001, but is personalised to make it less challenging and achievable for the small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). In other words, the IASME Gold Standard is an affordable certification for the SMEs to demonstrate their baseline compliance with the international standard ISO27001 while proving to the stakeholders that their cybersecurity efforts are up-to-date and enhanced.
Getting accredited
The IASME Gold Standard is an accreditation based on risk which is built on the technical controls of Cyber Essentials to observe aspects like data backups, physical security, and staff awareness.
The companies have to demonstrate their compliance to five of the key technical security controls for getting accredited with the IASME Gold standard.
These controls include Boundary Firewalls and Internet Gateways, Secure Configuration, User Access Control, Malware Protection, and Patch Management. The companies will also need to adhere to the IASME standard which is written along the lines of ISO27001 as this international standard specifies the legal, technical and physical controls that help to manage the cybersecurity risks.
What does the IASME Gold Certificate mean?
Since the UK Government has made it compulsory for all the UK companies to ensure cybersecurity as well as insurance in place, attaining the IASME Gold Certification has become extremely valuable. This certificate is particularly valued as it also offers the possibility to be tested against the GDPR requirements.
For that matter, the IASME Gold Certificate will indicate a better level of the all-around information security of a company. This part will particularly become true if you pass the GDPR assessment as well which will indicate that you have made adequate efforts to make sure that your company is more than ready to get the regulation introduced.