The Cyber Scheme regularly talk to individuals who have successfully passed the Cyber Advisor assessment with us, to get a full understanding of their motivations, and what it means for the organisations they work with.
We are collating all the answers in a series called ‘Cyber Advisor Success Stories’, to help those who are thinking about taking on this challenging, but rewarding assessment. In this issue, we talked to Adam Nottage, owner of Keysigma, to find out whether he thinks the scheme has been good for business – and the professional development of him and his team.
Thank you for talking with us today Adam. To start with, can you explain why you decided to take the Cyber Advisor (Cyber Essentials Implementation) assessment with The Cyber Scheme?
“As a Cyber Essentials Plus Certification Body, we have always been passionate about doing more than simply assessing organisations against the standard. We want to help businesses genuinely improve their cyber security, strengthen their controls, and feel more confident in the way they protect themselves.
The Cyber Advisor assessment was a great opportunity for us to demonstrate that approach. It reflects not only that we truly understand the Cyber Essentials standard, but that we can translate it into clear, practical, right-sized advice for small and medium-sized organisations that may not have a deep understanding of cyber security or IT.
More than two-thirds of the organisations we support and certify are small or medium-sized, and for many of them, accessible guidance can make a real difference. We enjoy helping those businesses break down technical requirements, understand what good looks like, and make positive improvements without feeling overwhelmed.
It has also become an important part of our own team development. I hold CISSP and Chartered Security Professional status, and I first passed this assessment in 2023, followed by consultants Ben and Maisie in 2025 and Alice in 2026. This means everyone in the company currently holds the Cyber Advisor qualification, which is something we are really proud of. Having the whole team qualified also helps us provide a consistent standard of advice across the business, so clients can be confident they are receiving clear, practical guidance no matter who they work with.
We have now started building the assessment into our apprenticeship development pathway, as we see it as a fantastic progression step for anyone working with Cyber Essentials.
For us, taking the Cyber Advisor assessment was about making sure our values were clearly reflected: supporting clients, raising standards, and helping organisations make practical, lasting improvements to their cyber security.
How long did it take you, after passing the Cyber Advisor (Cyber Essentials Implementation) Assessment, for your company to receive Assured Service Provider status?
We applied straight away after passing the Cyber Advisor assessment and became an Assured Service Provider within a week.
As we already had the internal quality systems and information security processes in place to satisfy the requirements of the scheme, we were able to move through the process quickly and without delay. For us, it was important to complete the process promptly so that our Assured Service Provider status reflected the capability and standards we already had within the business.
Have you advertised the fact that your organisation has a Cyber Advisor available for consultation and advice?
Yes, we actively promote the fact that we have Cyber Advisors available to support both new and existing clients.
We are incredibly proud to currently have more qualified Cyber Advisors than any other organisation in the country, and we see this as an important reflection of the quality and consistency of the support we provide. It gives clients external validation that the advice they receive from us is practical, informed, and aligned with the Cyber Essentials standard.
It has also become a strong differentiator for us. Many organisations are looking for more than a straightforward certification assessment; they want guidance that helps them understand the requirements and implement the right changes for their business. Being able to promote our Cyber Advisor capability helps show that we are not simply assessors, but a team that can support organisations through meaningful cyber security improvements.
Do you think being an Assured Cyber Advisor is beneficial to the organisation you work for?
Yes, holding NCSC Assured Cyber Advisor status has been highly beneficial for our organisation.
It gives our services additional credibility and provides external validation of the quality of advice and support we offer. For clients, it helps demonstrate that our guidance is not only based on our experience as a Cyber Essentials Plus Certification Body, but is also backed by recognised assurance.
Having qualified Cyber Advisors within the team has also enabled us to deliver additional schemes and initiatives, including the now-completed NCSC-funded Cyber Essentials programme and the joint NPSA/NCSC Secure Innovation Security Review scheme.
The Secure Innovation scheme has been a particularly good example of where this capability adds value. It has allowed us to support innovative start-ups and growing technology businesses with broader security guidance, helping them think about cyber security alongside areas such as risk management, protective security governance, security culture, incident management, and secure supply chains. That fits closely with how we like to work; giving practical, right-sized advice that helps organisations protect what they are building and make security a positive part of their growth.
Overall, being an Assured Cyber Advisor has strengthened our position in the market, broadened our service offering, and helped us continue delivering practical, high-quality guidance to organisations looking to improve their cyber security.
Has being an Assured Cyber Advisor increased business for your organisation?
Not yet in a formal procurement sense, but we are seeing growing demand from organisations that are new to Cyber Essentials and want to understand how they can be supported up to the standard.
Many of these organisations are looking for clear, practical guidance on what Cyber Essentials means for them, what changes they need to make, and how to implement those changes in a way that is proportionate to their size, structure, and risk.
That is where having NCSC Assured Cyber Advisors adds real value. It gives clients confidence that they are receiving advice from people who understand the standard in depth and can help them make the right improvements before they go through certification.
“For us, Cyber Advisor status reflects exactly how we want to support organisations: not just helping them achieve certification, but giving them clear, practical and proportionate advice that improves their cyber security in a meaningful way. It provides external assurance that our team understands the Cyber Essentials standard in depth and can help organisations implement it confidently.”