The Scottish Council for Voluntary Services (SCVO) provide small grants to third sector organisations in Scotland.  Currently, grants are available to help get Cyber Essentials accreditation in place.  The aim is to help charities improve their defences against cyber threats. Cyber Essentials (CE) is a UK Government backed accreditation, which requires 5 key controls to be implemented. So doing can drastically reduce the risk of cyber-attacks.  The scheme is administered by the National Cyber Security Centre and is increasingly being required for government tenders etc.  Consequently the ICO promotes Cyber Essentials as a good first step towards addressing cyber security risks.

By applying to the SCVO charities can receive up to £1000 towards the cost of CE accreditation.

Grants eligibility:

To be eligible for a grant of up to £1000 you must meet certain eligibility criteria:

• Be a Scottish third sector organisation registered with the SCVO.
• Clearly describe how accreditation will benefit your organisation and service users.
• Provide evidence of how you are already taking steps towards the baseline actions within the NCSC Small Charities Guide.
• Organisations must have a contracted IT supplier or dedicated in-house IT staff.
• The maximum annual income threshold to receive grant for CE accreditation is £4 million. Organisations with a higher income will be considered for Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation.
• Applications to renew a pre-existing Cyber Essentials accreditation are not eligible for funding

The deadline for applications is 30th August, you can apply here.

How can RedMosquito help?

RedMosquito are certified ACE Practitioners. This means we have been externally assessed and accredited to deliver advice, guidance and consultancy in Cyber Essentials.  We can support your organisation through all aspects of the preparation for certification.   Many of our IT Support and IT security customers in Glasgow, Edinburgh and throughout Scotland, have successfully achieved Cyber Essentials certification with our support.  If you would like to discuss this further with one of our technical consultants, please contact us today.

RedMosquito provide IT Support and IT Security services to SMEs throughout Scotland.