Blog | 3-minute Read
Cyber Essentials updates April 2025: What you need to know
Anna Webb
Head of Global Security Operations
Published: 17 March 2025
The latest Cyber Essentials updates take effect from April 2025. Here’s what’s changing and how Kocho’s security team can help your organisation.
Cyber Essentials (CE) and Cyber Essentials Plus (CE+) are evolving. From April 2025, updates will be introduced to keep the certifications aligned with modern cybersecurity challenges, but what do these changes mean for your business?
Let’s break it down.
Why are Cyber Essentials updates happening?
For the uninitiated, Cyber Essentials is a government-backed scheme that helps organisations achieve a level of cybersecurity that’s robust enough to defend against modern threats.
And you probably don’t need us to tell you how much these threats are advancing.
Here’s what the 2024 Microsoft Digital Defence Report has to say about the current global threat picture:
The malign actors of the world are becoming better resourced and better prepared, with increasingly sophisticated tactics, techniques, and tools that challenge even the world’s best cybersecurity defenders.
To stay relevant and effective, Cyber Essentials needs to keep pace. The 2025 updates aim to:
- Address weaknesses in outdated security methods, like traditional password-based authentication.
- Reflect modern working practices, especially remote work.
- Broaden the range of acceptable remediation methods.
- Strengthen the certification process to ensure it holds more weight.
What’s being updated
Here’s a breakdown of the most notable changes that you need to be aware of:
What this means for your business
The updates are designed to strengthen your organisation’s defences and enhance the credibility of your certification.
These include:
- Enhanced security: Passwordless authentication and improved vulnerability fixes reduce exposure to attacks.
- Better remote access security: Stronger safeguards for remote work improve resilience against evolving threats.
- Global credibility: Closer alignment with international standards helps win the trust of clients and partners, at home and abroad.
How Kocho can help
Navigating the changes to Cyber Essentials doesn’t have to be a challenge.
Our security experts have vast experience in helping our clients achieve and maintain Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus certifications. Supporting them to meet the requirements without unnecessary complexity.
From setting a strong cybersecurity foundation to guiding you through the CE+ journey, we’ll help you embed better security practices, improve resilience, and strengthen your compliance posture.
Get in touch with Kocho’s cybersecurity team to start your journey to a Cyber Essentials-certified future.
Key takeaways
Passwordless methods like biometrics and push notifications will replace traditional passwords for stronger, user-friendly security.
Remote work security now covers all untrusted locations, with mandatory cloud configuration checks.
Vulnerability fixes now include configuration changes, scripts, and other vendor-approved methods, not just patches.
Cyber Essentials will align with global standards like NIST, boosting credibility with international clients.
Kocho’s cybersecurity experts simplify certification, helping you meet requirements and strengthen security.
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Next steps
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