The voice of business in the Tees region | 43
WE ARE THE CYBER MEN!
Cyber sign-ups - Cornerstone director
Chris Bibby (right) with members of the CD
Engineering Services team.
WORDS: DAVE ALLAN
PICTURE: DOUG MOODY
Cornerstone protection helps CDE win blue chip contracts
T
he expertise in cyber security of
commercial IT experts Cornerstone
Business Solutions has helped one
of their key clients achieve a series
of major contract wins.
Stockton-based Cornerstone are leading
the field in the fight to protect Tees Valley
businesses against the increasing threat of
cyber-crime
They are accredited to market Cyber
Essentials, a government-backed scheme
designed to protect organisations against a
wide range of the most common cyber-
attacks.
And their advice and expertise enabled
their Stockton neighbours, leading electrical
contractors CD Engineering Services, to
meet industry-leading security standards
that has helped them win prestigious
contracts with blue chip clients.
Cornerstone’s in-house IT experts guided
CD Engineering Services through the cyber
security minefield to become one of only
a small number of firms within the Tees
region to have achieved Cyber Essentials
accreditation.
Electrical building services contractors,
CDE have gone on to achieve substantial
contract successes from national blue chip
clients who demanded Cyber Essentials
accreditation as a key part of any tenders.
It has enabled the firm to increase
turnover from £4m to £8.5m over the past
12 months, with the figure set to leap to
£12.5m in the year ahead on the back of an
order book worth £20m.
Stakeholders Peter Cass, Julie Cass
and Darren Charlton, together with an
“exceptionally talented” Teesside workforce
have led CDE’s impressive growth, with
the directors quick to praise the part
Cornerstone have played in their success.
Managing director Peter said: “With
Cornerstone’s support, we’ve won contracts
from some major blue chip companies,
whilst we’re competing for more
prestigious tenders that we couldn’t have
realistically targeted without having Cyber
Essentials in place.
“CDE has been operating successfully
for more than 11 years but Cyber Essentials
has helped open doors to much larger
opportunities that might otherwise have
been beyond our reach.
“We were already enjoying a significant
expansion but to sustain our growth we
needed to break into new markets. Cyber
Essentials accreditation has allowed us
to aim higher and win a number of larger,
more complex contracts.
“These are clients with whom a simple
anti-virus system doesn’t cut the mustard.
“There’s no doubt it has given us a
significant advantage over our competitors.”
Cyber Essentials helps to guard against
the most common cyber threats while
allowing organisations to demonstrate their
commitment to cyber security.
But gaining accreditation can be a
complex and time-consuming process.
That’s where Cornerstone stepped in.
“Cornerstone made it easy and
seamless,” added Peter. “They understood
our needs from the start and made the
entire process relatively pain-free, thanks to
their excellent client focus and commitment
to professionalism.”
Cornerstone director Chris Bibby revealed
the IT firm had previously installed a full
network for CD Engineering Services
including internet connectivity and phones
following an office move.
But he explained: “Although we had
installed initial security software for CDE,
such as anti-virus systems, this was a
huge step up and it was clear both firms
needed to work together closely to
ensure the necessary outcome.
“A key element of gaining Cyber
Essentials involved us scanning
their network to check for internal
vulnerabilities. This scan generates
a report that that we use to decide
what actions are needed to secure the
network.
“We also ran through the very detailed
guidelines of the scheme, answering
around 250 key questions on cyber
security.
“Using the report and site survey
guidelines, we produced proposals and
carried out any necessary work to get
CDE accredited with Cyber Essentials.”
The work included deploying an MDM
(mobile device management) system,
dual factor authentication, malware bytes,
internal vulnerability scans and cyber
policies. Encryption was also rolled out to
protect information stored on all company
devices that are occasionally removed
from the office, including mobile phones
and tablets – particularly a batch of
recently purchased iPads.
Chris added: “It involved a significant
amount of work, of course, but the
way we managed it ensured there was
minimum disruption to the business.”