Cyber Hygiene for Startups: Why the Basics Still Matter

In the sprint to launch features, secure funding, and scale users, cybersecurity often gets left behind. But ignoring cybersecurity considerations can cost you trust, customers, and ultimately your future. At Good Bards, we’ve learned that the earlier you build cyber hygiene into your DNA, the more resilient and investable you become.

That’s why we recently completed Cyber Essentials certification from Singapore’s Cyber Security Agency (CSA), a foundational step in our long-term commitment to building our Agentic AI- powered vision responsibly.

What Are Cyber Essentials?

Cyber Essentials is part of CSA’s SG Cyber Safe Programme, designed to help Singapore-based businesses put the fundamentals of cybersecurity in place. It’s specifically geared toward startups and SMEs, and helps answer an important question: Are your basics in place?

The Cyber Essentials accreditation assesses how your team manages risks in daily operations such as your passwords, your endpoints, your cloud access, your backups. In short, it checks if your internal systems are secure enough to withstand common cyber threats. This sets the foundation for more advanced CyberTrust Mark, ISO27001, ISO42001, and SOC2 standards.

The newly enhanced framework also covers Cloud Security and AI Security, two areas that are especially relevant to companies like ours. At Good Bards, we were assessed across both.

Why We Decided to Get Certified

We weren’t chasing recognition. Cyber Essentials isn’t something most startups shout about. But we saw it as an opportunity to pause, take stock, and strengthen our internal hygiene before things get more complex.

As a lean, cloud-native company with no on-premise infrastructure, our day-to-day work relies heavily on  third-party hosting providers and SaaS applications. Our endpoints are BYOD. And like many startups, we had a mix of good practices that weren’t always formally written down.

The certification process helped us clean that up and streamline our processes. We created company-wide Cyber Hygiene Guidelines, refreshed our Data Management and Retention Policy, and rolled out internal documentation to reflect how we handle security across devices, access points, and data workflows.

What the Process Involved

The process was clear but thorough. We began by defining our scope, enterprise software development with cloud-native tools and a small team. We submitted a CSA application that included our system architecture, endpoint count, and the platforms we use. From there, we worked through a structured checklist that focused on core areas:

• Are our employees using strong passwords and multi-factor authentication?

• Are our devices (even personal ones) secured and properly configured?

• Do we have clear access controls for tools like Google Workspace and AWS?

• Are we backing up our data regularly and securely?

• Have we trained our team to identify suspicious activity or social engineering attempts?

• Is there an incident response plan in place, and is everyone aware of it?
  

Bureau Veritas, an external assessor, reviewed our documentation, asked questions, and flagged a few minor improvements. We tightened our backup protocols and cleaned up access logs. After final review, we received certification.

From start to finish, including preparation and external assessment, the process took about six to eight weeks.

What It Taught Us

A lot of what we needed to do wasn’t new, but this process made it intentional. It gave us a structured reason to align everyone on what “secure by default” actually means at Good Bards.

We often talk about “product-market fit” and “scalable systems.” Security is part of that. You don’t want to land your first enterprise client and then scramble to show them how your access controls work. You want that system in place already quietly doing its job.

This experience also helped us normalize security conversations internally. It’s now part of onboarding. Our Cyber Hygiene Guidelines are referenced regularly. And we’ve committed to annual role-based security training, so it doesn’t fade into the background.

Why We’re Sharing This

Startups don’t often talk about cybersecurity until something goes wrong. We’d rather flip that narrative. Getting certified with Cyber Essentials isn’t a huge headline, but it reflects our belief that trust isn’t just built in the product—it’s built in how you work.

And to be clear: this is just the beginning. We’re already planning toward more advanced certifications like CyberTrust Mark, ISO27001, ISO42001, and SOC2 as our team and platform grow. But this was a meaningful first step. One that we hope more early-stage companies will consider.

“It’s easy to see security as something for Series B and beyond,” Cedrick Lunven, our CTO says. “But doing the basics early saves you a lot of grief later.”

"Investing early in data and AI governance lays the foundation for trusted, scalable growth", adds Andrew Wee, our CFO. "Commitment to international standards will drive credibility, resilience, and readiness for enterprise scale.

If you’re a founder reading this, here’s your nudge: start early. Don’t wait for a client questionnaire, a breach, or a procurement blocker. You don’t need a big budget to get the fundamentals right. You just need the mindset.