We’re pleased to announce that Goss has successfully achieved the Cyber Essentials accreditation and passed first time. This is a significant milestone in our ongoing commitment to operational excellence, information security, and industry best practice.
Why Cyber Security Matters in Construction
Cyber security isn’t just an IT issue; it’s a business continuity issue. In today’s increasingly digital construction environment, project data, client information, financial systems, and supply chain communications are all potential cyber targets.
A single breach can cause serious disruption, reputational damage, and financial loss.
The construction industry is particularly vulnerable. According to the UK Government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2024, 32% of UK businesses reported cyber breaches or attacks in the last 12 months, with phishing attempts and ransomware being the most common threats.
The construction sector has seen a marked increase in targeted attacks as digitisation expands across project lifecycles.
The National Cyber Security Centre: Cyber security for construction businesses
What is Cyber Essentials?
Cyber Essentials is a government-backed, industry-supported scheme that helps organisations protect themselves against the most common cyber threats. To gain certification, we had to demonstrate that we have robust controls in place across five key areas:
- Firewalls: Ensuring boundary firewalls and internet gateways are secure.
- Secure Configuration: Devices and software are configured to reduce vulnerabilities.
- User Access Control: Access is restricted to those who need it.
- Malware Protection: Anti-malware solutions are in place and regularly updated.
- Patch Management: Systems are updated with the latest security patches.
Achieving the accreditation is not a box-ticking exercise, it required a full review of our systems, processes, and behaviours across the business.
Why Goss Pursued Accreditation
Over the past year, we noticed a growing number of our Tier 1 and Tier 2 clients holding the Cyber Essentials accreditation. This highlighted the growing importance of cyber resilience across the supply chain and made clear that leading companies expect the same level of security from their contractors and partners.
We want to maintain the highest standards across all areas of the business. Achieving Cyber Essentials is part of our wider drive for operational excellence and future readiness. It ensures that we are not only protecting our systems, but also those of our clients, subcontractors, and collaborators.
This move also supports our ability to tender for certain contracts where Cyber Essentials is becoming a prequalification requirement, particularly in public sector or high-security site environments.
A Turning Point: Staff Training with Hertfordshire Police
The decision to pursue accreditation was sparked by a powerful internal cyber awareness session delivered by the Hertfordshire Police Online Fraud and Cyber Security Team.
The session was both fascinating and alarming and left no doubt about the scale of the threat. It highlighted how easily businesses can be targeted and the real-world impact of breaches. That training session, around six months ago, lit the fire under our drive to improve our cyber resilience from the inside out.
Looking Ahead
Cyber Essentials is not a one-off, it’s part of an ongoing commitment to keeping our business secure and our operations resilient. The accreditation gives our clients and partners confidence that we take cyber security seriously and are actively reducing our risk profile.
George Goss, Managing Director said:
“Achieving Cyber Essentials is more than a badge, it’s a reflection of our values as a business. At Goss, we’re known for delivering high-quality hygienic wall cladding, protective wall coatings, and impact protection systems, often in environments where safety, compliance, and trust are paramount. Strengthening our cyber security aligns perfectly with those standards. This accreditation reinforces our commitment to safeguarding our people, our clients, and our data. It’s a vital step in strengthening our digital foundations and ensuring we remain a trusted, resilient partner across the construction and fit-out sectors.”
We’re proud to have achieved certification on our first attempt and will continue investing in systems, training, and standards that protect the future of our business and our projects.
If you’d like to learn more about Cyber Essentials, we’d be happy to share our experience and help raise the standard across our industry.
