Barclays became the first major business to gain the Government’s new cyber security classification yesterday.
The high street bank gained accreditation for its digital banking services after passing the new Cyber Essentials test, introduced at the start of June.
The security assessment, which becomes mandatory for firms bidding on public sector contracts from October, is an attempt to reduce the risk of financial data loss after some high profile breaches.
The accreditation covers MyBarclays, BMB, and Pingit services provided by the bank, and was issued by certification body Gotham Digital Science (GDS), a member of CREST, a not-for-profit IT security body that oversees the scheme.
Philip Sowter, mobile banking director at Barclays, said: "We identified this new government scheme as an important part of our plans to help customers in the digital age transact completely safely and securely.
"We are pleased to be involved with the scheme and to have been recognised by the Cyber Essentials Certification. We are working with GDS towards the Cyber Essentials Plus certification."
To gain the basic certification, Barclays had to complete a cyber security questionnaire that gets independently reviewed and underwent an external perimeter security test.
The Plus scheme involves testing the bank’s security systems.
"For Barclays the process was straightforward because of the existing security processes it already had in place," said Justin Clarke, managing director of GDS.
"The certification gives Barclays an opportunity to showcase its leadership in digital banking, and reinforces the importance the bank places on protecting customer assets and data."
