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Written question asked by Oliver Dowden (Conservative) on Monday, 13 April 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 15 April 2026. It was answered by Kanishka Narayan (Labour) on Tuesday, 21 April 2026 on behalf of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

Cybersecurity: Certification

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, if she will take steps to align the National Cyber Security Centre’s Cyber Essentials certification with the insurance industry’s standards to protect organisations against cyber risk, starting with the inclusion of backups.

Answer

The government is engaging insurers and brokers to encourage clear, proportionate conversations about cyber risk and good cyber hygiene. Insurers typically take risk‑based approaches to underwriting and the government is encouraging the inclusion of fundamental cyber security measures, such as Cyber Essentials.

Data backups are a key part of the cyber incident response and recovery process and are critical to an organisation’s cyber resilience. The Cyber Essentials scheme focuses on defensive technical controls to prevent the most common cyber threats by stopping attackers gaining access. Data backup is not preventative, and therefore not a requirement for the scheme. However, the Cyber Essentials guidance makes clear that data backup is essential for recovery following a successful attack and strongly encourages organisations to implement a backup solution. The scheme is continually reviewed to ensure the controls remain appropriate and effective.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
126635
Session
2024-26
Transferred
Yes
Subjects
Certification Insurance Cybersecurity
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk