Strengthening defence Cyber Security through standards and assurance

In today’s security landscape, cyber hygiene and standards-based assurance are the foundations of operational confidence across defence and critical infrastructure.

Cyber Essentials+: Getting the Basics Right

Digital transformation can only succeed if the basics are in place. Cyber Essentials+, the UK government-backed cyber security scheme, provides a verified baseline of protection. Unlike the basic certification, Cyber Essentials+ includes independent testing of systems against common threats, covering patch management, secure configurations, and boundary defences. For defence contractors and supply chain partners, this demonstrates that cyber security is embedded into everyday processes, not just a compliance exercise.

NCSC Alignment: Strengthening Assurance

While Cyber Essentials+ establishes a solid foundation, many organisations also need to demonstrate maturity against internationally recognised standards. Methods aligns Cyber Essentials+ with the NCSC Cyber Assessment Framework (CAF) is a, ensuring that the key pillars, Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover - translate into practical, actionable security controls. This combined approach supports interoperability across allied systems and provides assurance on both a national and global scale.

The Value of Layered Assurance

Establishing a layered model - UK certification alongside international frameworks, delivers:

• Operational confidence: independent verification that core protections are in place.
• Scalability: frameworks that support growth and interoperability.
• Supply chain trust: evidence that cyber risks are actively managed across partnerships.
  
  

At DSEI UK 2025

Visitors to our stand will see how:

• Cyber Essentials+ can be embedded within broader digital transformation.
• Mapping Cyber Essentials+ to NCSC simplifies audit processes and strengthens overall resilience.
• Practical examples show how compliance frameworks support long-term operational security.
  
  

Beyond Certification

Achieving certification is only the start. We work with organisations to:

• Build cyber awareness across teams.
• Establish continuous improvement cycles with reassessment and threat modelling.
• Align governance policies with both UK and international standards.

Secure digital foundations are essential for modern defence. At DSEI UK 2025, Methods will demonstrate how combining Cyber Essentials+ with NCSC alignment creates confidence, resilience, and readiness in an increasingly complex.

Book your session here.


Our Assurance Capabilities

Additionally, Methods has achieved NCSC assured service status for Audit and Review, adding to our existing NCSC services including Risk Management, GovAssure, and Cyber Resilience Audit (CRA): Find out more.