CyberSafeCheck SMB1001 is a cyber security standard designed specifically for small and medium businesses. Where standards like ISO 27001 can be a significant undertaking, SMB1001 offers a practical, tiered path to demonstrable cyber maturity — letting smaller organisations start simply and progress as they grow.
The five tiers
- Bronze — fundamental controls such as antivirus, firewalls, automatic updates, regular password changes and backups. Self-assessed and low-cost.
- Silver — stronger controls and documented processes, still self-assessed.
- Gold — formal security policies and monitoring, verified by an external audit.
- Platinum — advanced governance and vulnerability management for organisations with greater data or supply-chain obligations.
- Diamond — the highest tier, reflecting cyber governance comparable to a larger enterprise programme.
Why it suits smaller businesses
The tiered model means you can achieve a meaningful, recognised level of cyber maturity quickly and affordably at Bronze or Silver, then move up as your needs and resources grow. It is increasingly used to satisfy customer and supply-chain expectations without the cost and complexity of full ISO certification.
CyberSafeCheck covers many of the controls behind the lower SMB1001 tiers, giving you a fast sense of where you’d sit today. You may also be interested in the Essential Eight and ISO 27001.
Go deeper: read our tier-by-tier breakdown of SMB1001 — what each part means in plain English, and the risk of leaving it unaddressed.
See where you’d land on SMB1001
Take the free CyberSafeCheck assessment and see how your business measures up — instant score, compliance check and a prioritised action plan in about five minutes.