Essential Eight Assessment Services for SME’s
Independent, evidence-based assessment to understand your current maturity, risks, and pathway to compliance.
Understanding where you stand against the Essential Eight is the first step toward reducing cyber risk and meeting regulatory expectations. Our Essential Eight assessments provide a clear, independent view of your current maturity, backed by technical validation and practical guidance.
We focus on real controls, not just documentation, helping organisations understand their true security posture and what to do next.
✔ Independent maturity assessment aligned to ASD guidance
✔ Clear gap analysis and prioritised roadmap
✔ Suitable for SMEs, regulated organisations, and Defence suppliers
✔ Practical, engineering-led approach
Who Should Consider an Essential Eight Assessment
Organisations at all stages of their security journey can benefit from an independent assessment. Whether you are starting from scratch, preparing for regulatory engagement, or seeking assurance for leadership, an assessment provides clarity and confidence.
An Essential Eight assessment is particularly valuable when organisations need an objective view of their maturity and a clear plan for improvement.
This service is ideal for:
- Organisations unsure of current maturity level
- Organisations starting their Essential Eight journey
- Businesses preparing for DISP or regulated environments
- Organisations needing an independent maturity review
- Companies seeking assurance before audit or board reporting
What Is an Essential Eight Assessment
An Essential Eight assessment evaluates how effectively your organisation has implemented the eight mitigation strategies defined by the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) within the ASD Essential Eight framework.
The assessment measures both the design and operational effectiveness of controls across your environment, providing a maturity rating aligned to the recognised model.
Rather than focusing solely on documentation, the assessment examines technical implementation, operational practices, and governance alignment to determine how controls perform in real-world conditions.
Why it matters
Understanding your maturity helps you prioritise investments, reduce cyber risk, and demonstrate due diligence to stakeholders, regulators, and customers.
The Essential Eight maturity model defines progressive levels of control effectiveness, from foundational implementation through to more advanced and resilient environments. Most organisations target maturity levels appropriate to their risk profile, regulatory obligations, and operational context.
Outcome focus
The goal is not simply to assign a maturity level, but to provide a clear pathway for improvement through practical recommendations and prioritised actions..
Assessment Scope
Our assessments cover all eight mitigation strategies, evaluating both technical implementation and supporting governance processes.
Application Control
Assessment of application allowlisting controls, execution restrictions, and management processes.
Patch Management
Evaluation of operating system and application patching practices, timelines, and coverage.
Multi-Factor Authentication
Review of MFA implementation across privileged access, remote access, and critical systems.
Restrict Administrative Privileges
Assessment of privileged access management, account separation, and monitoring controls.
User Application Hardening
Evaluation of browser and application security configurations to reduce attack surface.
Office Macro Controls
Assessment of macro configuration, restrictions, and monitoring practices.
Regular Backups
Review of backup strategies, integrity testing, and recovery capability.
Operating System Hardening
Assessment of system configuration, security baselines, and hardening practices.
All assessments include both technical validation and policy or process review to ensure controls are effective and sustainable.
Our Approach
We take an engineering-led approach that focuses on real implementation rather than theoretical compliance. Our methodology is structured, evidence-based, and designed to minimise disruption while providing high confidence results.
Discovery and Scoping
We define assessment scope, environment coverage, and organisational objectives.
Evidence Collection
We gather documentation, configuration evidence, and operational artefacts.
Technical Validation
We validate control implementation through technical review and sampling.
Maturity Scoring
Controls are assessed against ASD maturity criteria to determine current level.
Gap Analysis
We identify control gaps, risks, and improvement opportunities.
Executive Reporting
We provide clear reporting tailored for technical teams and leadership.
This structured approach ensures findings are accurate, defensible, and actionable.
What You Receive
Our assessments are designed to provide clarity, not just findings. Deliverables are practical, structured, and suitable for both technical remediation and executive oversight.
You will receive:
- Optional uplift planning support
- Current maturity assessment across all Essential Eight controls
- Detailed gap analysis identifying control weaknesses
- Risk and impact summary
- Prioritised remediation roadmap
- Executive summary for leadership and governance reporting
Outcomes
An Essential Eight assessment provides organisations with a clear understanding of their security posture and a realistic path forward.
Key outcomes include:
- Clear understanding of current security posture
- Confidence in compliance pathway
- Reduced risk exposure
- Alignment with regulatory expectations
- Informed investment decisions
Assessment Options
Different organisations require different levels of depth depending on their objectives, risk profile, and regulatory context.
High-Level Maturity Review
A rapid assessment providing an indicative maturity level and key improvement areas.
Detailed Technical Assessment
Comprehensive technical review with deep validation across controls.
Pre-DISP Readiness Assessment
Focused assessment aligned to Defence supplier expectations and DISP preparation.
Independent Assurance Review
Objective validation suitable for governance, audit, or board assurance.
Next Steps After Assessment
Most organisations use the assessment as the foundation for ongoing improvement and security uplift.
You may also be interested in:
- Essential Eight Uplift
- Managed Essential Eight Services
- DISP Consulting
- Cyber Security Services
You can explore the full Essential Eight framework on our Essential Eight hub or learn more about achieving higher maturity through our ML2 Defence guidance.
Proven Capability in the Field
Calexi combines engineering depth with practical delivery experience across government, Defence, and regulated industries. Our approach focuses on real security outcomes rather than theoretical compliance.
✔ Engineering-led security specialists
✔ Experience supporting regulated environments
✔ Practical approach, not checkbox consulting
✔ Clear, actionable reporting
✔ Experience across IT and operational environments
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DISP – Defence Industry Security Program Uplift
A Defence SME needed DISP compliance but faced limited resources and low security maturity. Calexi delivered a full uplift within 6 months, achieving Maturity Level 2, Defence approval, and cost savings all while improving security culture and posture.
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ASX Hybrid Cloud
An ASX-listed critical infrastructure company faced major risks from an aging, non-compliant ICT environment. Calexi staff delivered a hybrid cloud transformation during COVID-19, enabling 100% remote work, achieving E8 compliance in under a month, and ensuring no staff layoffs while strengthening security and scalability.
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SME Essential Eight Compliance
A Defence industry SME required Essential Eight compliance to execute a Defence contract. Calexi delivered a full uplift in just four weeks, achieving ML1 across all areas, ML3 in key controls, and DISP membership within 3 months — reducing risk from very high to low/medium.
Frequently Asked Questions
Most assessments take between two and six weeks depending on organisational size, complexity, and scope.
Target maturity depends on your risk profile and regulatory obligations. Many regulated organisations aim for higher maturity, while SMEs often begin with foundational controls.
Yes. Technical validation ensures controls are actually implemented and effective rather than documented only. But we are able to support collection of technical evidence.
While not mandatory in all cases, Essential Eight maturity is often expected as part of broader security posture for Defence suppliers.
Costs vary depending on scope and complexity. Assessments typically scale based on environment size and depth required.
Organisations typically use the roadmap to plan remediation activities, security uplift programs, or managed services engagement.
Yes. The framework is scalable and can be applied proportionately to smaller environments. This is an area we specialise in because many enterprise approaches do not scale.
Ready to understand your Essential Eight maturity?
Gain clarity on your current posture and a practical roadmap to improve your security and compliance.