Cybersecurity has become a business priority in Singapore. With cyber threats growing and government requirements tightening, companies — especially SMEs — need a practical way to show they are taking security seriously.
That’s where Cyber Essentials, a certification developed by the Cybersecurity Agency of Singapore (CSA), comes in. It sets out a simple, achievable baseline of cybersecurity practices to protect organisations against common threats. Unlike ISO27001, which is comprehensive but resource-intensive, Cyber Essentials is designed to be accessible, heavily subsidised and directly relevant to SMEs. More importantly, it is now a requirement for many government initiatives and projects — meaning certification isn’t just about compliance, but also about unlocking new business opportunities.
When I went through the Cyber Essentials self-assessment myself, I found something interesting: JumpCloud can easily help organisations meet more than 50% of the requirements out of the box. For SMEs who don’t have large IT teams, this is a game-changer.
Here’s how JumpCloud maps directly to key Cyber Essentials requirements:
1. A.2 Assets: Hardware and Software
Cyber Essentials requires organisations to know what hardware and software they have — and what employees are using.
JumpCloud makes this effortless with:
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Asset Management Dashboard: See all hardware assets at a glance, including OS, device model, serial number, IP address, and more.
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SaaS Discovery: Gain visibility into shadow IT, such as unapproved SaaS tools (including emerging GenAI apps). You can choose to approve or block them
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Website Restrictions: Restrict domains/websites even when employees are not connected to Company’s network.
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Software Installation Alerts: Get notified when new software is installed on any managed device, allowing quick responses to unapproved apps.
This visibility not only helps with compliance, but also reduces the risks of unmanaged devices and shadow IT creeping into your environment.
2. A.5 Secure/Protect: Access Control
Access control is about ensuring only the right people have access to the right systems and data.
With JumpCloud, SMEs can:
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View and Manage Device Accounts: See all local accounts on a device, and whether they have admin rights. Easily upgrade or downgrade rights remotely.
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Seamless Onboarding and Offboarding: Instantly grant or revoke access across local accounts, email and SaaS apps — no residual access.
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Centralised Policies: Enforce password complexity, screen lock, and even disable USB ports for tighter control. No Windows AD required
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Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Enable MFA organisation-wide, covering devices, SaaS apps and VPN access.
This creates a simple, centralised way to enforce strong access controls — a key requirement under Cyber Essentials.
3. A.6 Secure/Protect: Secure Configuration
Organisations must use secure settings for their hardware and software to reduce vulnerabilities.
JumpCloud supports this with:
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Directory Insights & Logging: Track events like password changes, device logins and failed login attempts.
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Configuration Enforcement: Push baseline security settings to devices automatically, ensuring consistency.
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Policy Management: Define and enforce security policies like firewall, disk encryption and screen lock.
This ensures that devices remain securely configured, even as your team grows and changes.
4. A.7 Update: Software Updates
Unpatched systems are one of the biggest causes of breaches. Cyber Essentials requires timely software and system updates.
JumpCloud simplifies this through:
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Patch Management Policies: Force devices to update patches, reducing the risk of vulnerabilities being exploited.
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Centralised Reporting: View OS and patch levels across all devices in the organisation at a glance.
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Automated Enforcement: Ensure updates cannot be skipped, keeping devices compliant with company standards.
This takes the guesswork out of updates and provides auditors with clear evidence of compliance.
A Practical Path to Certification and Growth
From my own experience, I’ve seen how JumpCloud can cover more than half of the Cyber Essentials checklist without requiring extra tools or heavy investment. For SMEs in Singapore, that means:
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A faster and easier path to certification
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Access to government projects and initiatives
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Stronger security foundations to protect business operations
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Reduced IT overhead and better visibility across devices and users
Cyber Essentials is no longer optional — it’s becoming the baseline for doing business in Singapore. With JumpCloud, achieving it doesn’t have to be difficult.
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Perennial is a Value-Added Reseller of JumpCloud — the leading identity, device and access management platform for SMEs.
We help businesses get the most out of JumpCloud with expert evaluation support and best of all, highly competitive pricing. Feel free to reach out, demo or trial, we’ll be glad to help.
