Frequently Asked Questions

Start with the systems your business cannot operate without and the information you need to protect. Review access, updates, existing security findings and what would happen if a key service failed.

CIS can help you prioritise the fixes, assign responsibility and check progress through managed IT support or co-managed support. Include a test of your backup and recovery plan.

Yes. CIS helps identify gaps, address technical issues and prepare evidence for Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus. We review the systems, users and services included in your assessment.

Certification requires a successful assessment against the scheme requirements. See our Cyber Essentials support for how we help and an example from an engineering client.

CIS provides vulnerability management, automated penetration testing, extended detection and response and Cyber Essentials preparation. We help you choose the work that addresses your risks, with clear responsibility for fixing findings and responding to incidents.

Yes. CIS helps organise shared files, permissions and communication in Teams and SharePoint for office and remote staff.

For BASEC, we introduced a company-wide SharePoint platform and moved business calls to Microsoft Teams. BASEC reported lower monthly mobile phone expenditure within four months. Read the BASEC case study.

CIS provides Microsoft 365 support for business email, Teams, SharePoint, account access and administration. For a migration, we help plan the data move, permissions, testing and user communications, then agree who supports users after the change.

Tell us which applications you use and where staff need help. Your proposal sets out support, security, licensing and backup responsibilities. If you are considering AI, our Microsoft 365 Copilot consultancy covers readiness, data access, rollout planning and staff adoption. Discuss your Microsoft 365 requirements.

We start with the issues you need to resolve and set measures for tracking progress. These might include recurring faults, response times, completed security fixes, restore-test results and project milestones.

Your service review should show what has improved, what is outstanding and who is responsible. The Hutton Engineering case study describes how proactive support helped a client plan its IT.

Yes. CIS supports businesses across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes, and Birmingham, with offices in Faringdon and Birmingham.

We plan remote support and onsite visits around your locations and working hours. Your proposal confirms the coverage and any visits charged separately.

A backup needs protection from the same compromise that affects live systems. Review separate administrator access, multi-factor authentication, protected retention and suitable offline, isolated or immutable recovery copies.

Check monitoring and recovery procedures as well as the technology. Test that authorised staff can recover usable data when normal systems are unavailable. The NCSC’s ransomware-resistant backup principles provide a useful reference for the discussion.

Microsoft 365 includes recovery and retention features, but their scope and limits vary by service and configuration. Check whether they meet your requirements for accidental deletion, compromised accounts, retention and wider recovery.

Agree which mailboxes, files and sites need backup protection, how long recovery points should remain available and who will test restores. Discuss Microsoft 365 support alongside your backup and recovery arrangements. Our IaaS, PaaS and SaaS comparison explains how cloud responsibilities differ.

Test restores regularly, with the frequency based on how critical each system is and how often it changes. Include checks after significant changes to your systems or backup arrangements.

Record what was restored, how long it took and whether staff could use the recovered data. Assign any problems to an owner and retest after fixing them. A successful file restore alone does not prove that every business system can recover.

CIS helps you plan recovery around the systems your business needs first. Recovery time depends on the affected services, available backup copies, connectivity and the checks needed before staff can work safely.

We discuss the recovery time objective, meaning the target time to restore a service, and the recovery point objective, meaning the acceptable age of recovered data. A controlled restore test provides evidence against those targets. A backup completion message alone does not prove how quickly the business can recover.

A backup is a recoverable copy of data. Disaster recovery is the plan for restoring the systems, access and dependencies your people need to work after a serious disruption.

A useful plan identifies the services to restore first, who makes decisions and how recovered systems will be checked. Review both together through our backup and disaster recovery service.

Your service agreement sets out helpdesk hours, response targets, issue priorities and escalation contacts. These depend on the systems you use and when your staff need support.

Our monitoring and maintenance service includes 24/7 monitoring. This does not mean every support agreement includes a 24-hour helpdesk or a guaranteed resolution time.

Yes. Co-managed IT support adds skills and capacity to your internal team. We can help with security, cloud projects, monitoring and escalated support issues.

We agree who handles each task, how tickets are passed between teams and who leads during an incident. See how this worked for UV&S Technology’s UK operation.

Start with your notice period, administrator access, licences, system documentation, backups and unresolved faults. CIS helps plan the handover with clear owners and checks before each service moves.

The timetable depends on your systems and outgoing provider. Our changing IT provider checklist explains what to prepare and how to keep staff informed.

Our managed IT support combines helpdesk assistance, monitoring, maintenance and technical advice for the users and systems in your agreement.

Your proposal sets out support hours, onsite visits, escalation contacts, security and backup responsibilities. It also identifies any projects or services charged separately.

One-off repairs resolve a particular fault. Managed IT support provides ongoing help, monitoring and maintenance for the systems in your agreement, alongside advice on improvements.

When comparing providers, check the users and devices covered, support hours, onsite visits, escalation process and responsibility for security and backups.

Software weaknesses and insecure settings can give attackers a way into your systems or help them move through your network. Vulnerability management finds these issues, prioritises them and tracks the fixes.

The work includes keeping an accurate system inventory, applying updates, reviewing scan results and checking that remediation worked. See our CYDEFENCE vulnerability management service.

A scan without login access cannot examine every part of an application. Authenticated scanning checks areas available to signed-in users, such as file uploads, account settings and tools for adding or changing data.

For CYDEFENCE, we establish the permitted accounts and areas to test before scanning.

Start with supported software, prompt updates, secure settings, multi-factor authentication and access limited to what each person needs. Protect backups, test restores and help staff recognise suspicious messages. Our data security strategy guide explains how to assign owners and check progress.

Our cyber security services can help you identify the gaps and decide what to address first.

The CYDEFENCE internal scanner uses an agent installed on each device being assessed. It supports Windows, Linux and macOS systems; the supported versions and installation requirements need to be checked before deployment.

The agent assesses its own device. Network equipment such as routers and switches needs a different assessment approach.

We support small and growing businesses as well as larger organisations. The service depends on your systems, locations and the IT resources you already have.

Choose managed IT support for ongoing help and maintenance, or co-managed IT support for additional skills alongside your own team. Tell us what you need.

External scanning checks internet-facing systems for known vulnerabilities. Internal scanning looks for weaknesses in systems on your private network.

CYDEFENCE uses an installed agent for its internal device assessments. The two approaches provide different views of your security and help identify which fixes to prioritise. For the wider assessment choices, compare the four types of security testing.

A web application scanner checks websites and web applications for security weaknesses. It explores pages and functions, then runs tests against the areas it can access.

Authenticated scans use an authorised account to check functions behind a login. The results need review and follow-up fixes.

CYDEFENCE checks for known software vulnerabilities, missing security updates and insecure settings. Depending on the scan type and target, checks can also identify encryption weaknesses.

Internal agents can inspect device information that an external scan cannot see. The findings help prioritise remediation and check progress over time.

We price each bespoke training plan as a fixed fee agreed before the course starts.

Our e-learning platform uses a monthly subscription based on the number of user accounts.

CYDEFENCE reports can be exported as PDF or CSV files. They include a scan summary, assessed targets, checks performed and detailed findings.

You can also review exposure over time and changes since the previous assessment to track remediation.

Recurring faults, slow responses, unclear charges or gaps in expertise are reasons to review your IT provider. Start by checking whether the current service meets your business needs and whether outstanding problems are being resolved.

If you decide to compare providers, ask for a clear service proposal and handover plan. Our changing IT provider checklist covers the practical steps.

Start with the systems that create the greatest risk to your business. External scanning assesses internet-facing infrastructure, while web application scanning examines the behaviour and functions of websites and applications.

If your business relies on both, include both in the assessment plan. CIS can help identify the targets and decide what to assess first.

Vulnerability scanning finds known weaknesses and can run regularly to track changes. Penetration testing investigates how weaknesses could be exploited and what an attacker might achieve.

They serve different purposes. Use scan findings to guide routine fixes, then commission appropriately scoped testing for deeper assurance. Neither replaces ongoing security maintenance.

Set a regular schedule based on the systems being assessed, their exposure and how often they change. CIS recommends at least monthly scanning as a starting point; higher-risk or frequently changing systems may need more frequent checks.

Rescan after important changes and remediation, and respond promptly to reports of actively exploited vulnerabilities. A scan is useful only when someone reviews and acts on the results.

Courses range from half a day to a week, depending on the subject and depth of training.

Where useful, we can split a course into sessions so your staff can apply what they have learnt before the next session.

The cost depends on your users, devices, applications, locations and support hours, plus the security and backup work required.

We review your current setup and recurring problems, then explain the ongoing service costs and any separate project fees. Read our guide to IT support costs and comparing quotes, then request an itemised IT support proposal. The guide uses illustrative budgeting figures rather than CIS prices.

Yes. We help resolve problems with business computers, software and the IT systems they connect to. Where an issue needs a hardware manufacturer or software supplier, we coordinate the next steps within your support agreement.

We support a range of business systems, including Windows, Mac and mobile devices. Tell us which devices, operating system versions and applications you use so we can confirm the support available and identify anything that needs specialist attention.

Yes. CYATTACK provides automated network penetration testing to help identify exploitable weaknesses and prioritise fixes.

Tell us what you need tested and why. We will confirm the appropriate approach, permissions, reporting and follow-up before testing starts.

Tell us your preferred location and group size so we can confirm the options. For traditional group courses, we normally recommend training away from the workplace to reduce interruptions and have access to equipped training facilities in Oxfordshire.

E-learning courses can be accessed from a suitable computer with an internet connection.

CYDEFENCE’s internal vulnerability scanner is agent-based and does not support the scanning of network devices such as routers and switches.

No. For an internal assessment, install the CYDEFENCE agent on each supported device you want to scan. Each agent assesses only the device on which it is installed.

Yes, you can carry out authenticated web application scans using CYDEFENCE. This includes modern web apps and single page applications.