The fastest way to prepare for Cyber Essentials certification (Danzell v3.3)
Complete the official assessment, identify gaps, collaborate with your team, and generate a certifier-ready submission — all in one platform. No consultants. No spreadsheets. No guesswork.
Register free and see your organisation's readiness in under 30 minutes.
No credit card · No commitment · Delete your account at any time
⚠️ The Danzell v3.3 standard is now in effect. All new Cyber Essentials assessments use the updated question set.
Purpose-built for UK organisations preparing for Cyber Essentials certification
Why Cyber Essentials matters
A UK government-backed certification that protects your organisation against the most common cyber threats — and proves it to everyone you work with.
92%
fewer cyber insurance claims (DCMS Cyber Security Breaches Survey)
5
technical controls assessed
12 months
certification validity
Protection against common threats
Cyber Essentials enforces five technical controls that protect against phishing, malware, ransomware, and unauthorised access — the threats responsible for the vast majority of UK cyber incidents.
Recognised UK certification
Issued by IASME on behalf of the National Cyber Security Centre. Certification demonstrates a credible, government-backed commitment to security that clients, partners, and insurers recognise.
Supply chain requirement
Increasingly, enterprise clients and public sector organisations require suppliers to hold Cyber Essentials before they will work with them. Certification opens doors that would otherwise be closed.
92% fewer insurance claims
Certified organisations make 92% fewer cyber insurance claims (DCMS Cyber Security Breaches Survey). Many insurers now offer reduced premiums for Cyber Essentials certified businesses — and some require it as a condition of cover.
Required for government contracts and growing supply chains
Cyber Essentials is mandatory for UK central government contracts involving data handling or ICT services. NHS trusts, local authorities, and defence contractors increasingly require it from their suppliers — and the requirement is filtering through supply chains across the private sector.
Builds a security culture
The process of working through the assessment raises security awareness across your whole team — IT, finance, HR, and operations — creating lasting improvements beyond the certificate itself.
Suitable for all UK organisations regardless of size or sector — from sole traders to enterprise.
Managed by IASME on behalf of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) (opens in a new tab)
Who needs Cyber Essentials?
- Mandatory: Any organisation bidding for UK central government contracts involving data handling or ICT services (PPN 014)
- Increasingly required: NHS suppliers, local authority suppliers, and defence supply chain organisations
- Supply chain: If your clients hold government contracts, they may require you to hold Cyber Essentials too
- Recommended for all: The NCSC recommends Cyber Essentials as the UK baseline standard for cyber security
The requirement is expanding. Many organisations that are not yet required to hold certification are finding their clients, insurers, and partners increasingly expect it.
Three ways to prepare for Cyber Essentials
Compare the options and choose what works for your team.
| Doing it manually | Consultant | CrownSync | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guided through official questions | No | Yes | Yes |
| Real-time gap identification | No | Yes | Yes |
| Vendor-specific fix guidance | No | Yes | Yes |
| Team collaboration built in | No | No | Yes |
| Board sign-off workflow | No | Yes | Yes |
| Complete audit trail | No | No | Yes |
| Cost | Your time | £1,000–£5,000 | Included |
| Time to ready | 4–8 weeks | 2–4 weeks | 1–2 weeks |
Guided through official questions
Manual
No
Consultant
Yes
CrownSync
Yes
Real-time gap identification
Manual
No
Consultant
Yes
CrownSync
Yes
Vendor-specific fix guidance
Manual
No
Consultant
Yes
CrownSync
Yes
Team collaboration built in
Manual
No
Consultant
No
CrownSync
Yes
Board sign-off workflow
Manual
No
Consultant
Yes
CrownSync
Yes
Complete audit trail
Manual
No
Consultant
No
CrownSync
Yes
Cost
Manual
Your time
Consultant
£1k–£5k
CrownSync
Free
Time to ready
Manual
4–8 wks
Consultant
2–4 wks
CrownSync
1–2 wks
Cyber Essentials certification typically costs £300–£600. CrownSync helps you get ready without the consultant fees. Why choose CrownSync →
Cyber Essentials certification is harder than it should be
Over 100 technical questions, multiple people needed, and one wrong answer can fail you.
The official IASME questionnaire has over 100 questions across 8 sections. Without the right guidance, most SMEs don't know where to start or what evidence they need.
Your IT lead knows the firewall setup. HR knows the offboarding process. Finance knows the cloud services. Getting everyone to contribute to one document is a coordination nightmare.
Failing your CE assessment means waiting, paying again, and delaying the contract you need. Most failures are avoidable with proper preparation.
CrownSync makes certification straightforward
We guide your whole team through the official questions, track your progress, and produce a submission-ready document.
Get your whole team involved
Assign questions to the right people — your IT lead, HR manager, finance director. Each person gets a private link, no account needed. Smart deadline-based reminders keep everyone on track. No chasing. No spreadsheets.
James Scott
IT Lead · Firewalls, Secure Config
Progress
85%
Aisha Khan
HR Manager · Access Control, User Accounts
Progress
60%
Mike Reeves
Finance Director · Insurance, Scope
Progress
30%
Question A7.14
Do you use a firewall to protect all devices?
Yes, all devices are protected by a boundary firewall configured to deny inbound...
Answered by James Scott
.xlsx
Ready to submit
Find your gaps before your certifier does
Answer the official Danzell v3.3 question set and see exactly which controls are missing, which will cause automatic failure, and what you need to fix — with specific guidance for your firewall, identity provider, and patch management tool.
Board sign-off built in
Cyber Essentials requires a director-level declaration. CrownSync handles the formal sign-off workflow — your director receives a secure link, reviews the full assessment, and approves with a timestamped declaration. Once approved, the assessment is permanently locked. Complete audit trail with every action recorded.
Board Sign-off Request
Sent to [email protected]
I confirm that the answers provided in this Cyber Essentials self-assessment are accurate to the best of my knowledge...
Sarah Chen, CEO
Have you changed all the default passwords on your boundary firewall devices?
What firewall does your organisation use?
Steps for Fortinet FortiGate:
- Log into your FortiGate web interface
- Go to System → Administrators
- Change the admin password — minimum 12 characters
Fix guidance specific to your tools
Real-time remediation guidance appears the moment you identify a gap — with specific steps for your firewall, identity provider, and patch management tool. Not generic advice — actual step-by-step instructions for Fortinet, Cisco Meraki, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and more.
Never chase your team again
Smart deadline-based reminders keep contributors on track — 7 days, 3 days, 1 day before deadline, and overdue notices. Assign specific gaps to your IT lead, MSP, or finance director with instructions and a deadline. Choose real-time alerts or a daily digest of progress.
Reminder schedule
Built for accountability
Complete audit trail of every action. Board sign-off with permanent locking. GDPR-compliant data handling. Every decision timestamped and recorded.
From signup to submission-ready in five steps
Average time to complete: 2–4 hours across your team
Set up your organisation
Sign up with your email. We look up your company on Companies House and pre-fill your details automatically. Takes 5 minutes.
Assign questions to your team
IT lead, HR, finance, operations — send each person their questions with a deadline. No accounts needed. Smart reminders keep everyone on track.
Complete the assessment
The app adapts to your organisation and guides you through each section. Irrelevant questions are hidden automatically.
Review your gaps
See exactly what will prevent certification and how to fix it. Product-specific guidance for your firewall, identity provider, and patch management tool.
Sign off and submit
Get board sign-off digitally. Download your submission-ready Excel file and paste into the IASME portal.
Full access, no credit card required
Every feature included. Start your assessment today.
Full access · No restrictions
- Adaptive Danzell v3.3 question set
- Unlimited team members
- Vendor-specific remediation guidance
- Smart deadline-based reminders
- Companies House auto-fill
- Excel export — copy-paste ready for IASME
- PDF readiness report and evidence checklist
- Board sign-off with governance locking
- Full audit trail and version history
- GDPR-compliant data handling
Paid plans will be introduced later — existing users will receive advance notice and a preferential rate.
CE certification is priced by IASME based on your organisation size, starting at £320 + VAT. CrownSync is a preparation tool — the IASME certification fee is separate.
Why not just use the free IASME Readiness Tool?
The IASME tool tells you what to do. CrownSync helps you actually do it.
| Feature | IASME Free Tool | CrownSync |
|---|---|---|
| Official Danzell questions | Simplified only | Full set, adapts to your org |
| Multi-user collaboration | Single user | Unlimited team members |
| Question assignment | With deadlines and reminders | |
| Answer attribution | Named contributor per answer | |
| Board sign-off workflow | Formal approval with declaration | |
| Excel export for IASME portal | Copy-paste ready | |
| Full audit trail | Every action logged | |
| Companies House auto-fill | Pre-fills 7 questions instantly | |
| Cost | Free | Free |
Common questions
Effective 27 April 2026 — fully updated for all v3.3 AUTO_FAIL changes
Real-time fix guidance for every gap
Including Fortinet, Cisco, Microsoft 365 and more
Full access included
No credit card required
Trusted infrastructure and compliance
CrownSync CE Readiness is an independent preparation tool. We are not affiliated with NCSC, IASME, or any accredited Cyber Essentials certification body.
Ready to get Cyber Essentials certified?
No credit card required. Full access to every feature.
Most organisations find gaps they didn't know existed. The assessment takes 30–60 minutes. The peace of mind lasts 12 months.