Cyber Resilience Audit scheme open to applications

If you were at CYBERUK back in May, you may have heard Felicity Oswald, the CEO of the NCSC, mention the Cyber Resilience Audit (CRA) scheme. Now, after a great deal of work with a range of hugely supportive Cyber Oversight Bodies – including regulators and Lead Government Departments – we are delighted to announce that we are ready to accept applications from potential members.  

This new NCSC scheme assures providers who can conduct independent Cyber Assessment Framework (CAF) based audits, which will focus initially on supporting some nationally critical sectors. It is a bit of a departure from the norm for us because, for the first time, we have worked hand-in-hand with Cyber Oversight Bodies to set up a scheme which meets all our needs.  

The CRA scheme’s focus is squarely on the common requirements of all the Oversight Bodies and providing assurance that suppliers meet them. Once suppliers are on the scheme, they are then eligible to put themselves forward to conduct audits in specific sectors – as long as they meet any additional requirements laid down by the Oversight Body.  

We will continue to work together to monitor and develop the scheme and use the outputs to better understand the resilience of the UK as a whole. 

The scheme standard and associated documentation are all available from our website. Once we have accepted enough companies into the scheme, we will announce that the scheme is open for business and publish information for buyers. We expect that to be towards the autumn. 

As always, we remain determined that companies of any size can apply to join any of our schemes. We particularly welcome companies located in or serving geographically remote or under-represented areas. Similarly, if your company is working hard to address issues of under-representation in the cyber security workforce, we’d love to see your application. 

We are taking action to remove artificial barriers to entry to all our Schemes. So, if you spot something which you think unfairly prevents you from applying, please let us know.

Catherine H
Head of Assured Professional Schemes, Industry Assurance