Cyber Essentials question · Firewalls & internet gateways
Have the default administrative passwords on your firewalls/routers been changed to strong, unique ones?
This is a mandatory item. Answering “No” fails the whole Firewalls & internet gateways section — and the overall assessment — however strong everything else is.
Why assessors ask this
Default device passwords are public knowledge — leaving them is treated as an automatic fail.
Priority fix
Priority: change the default admin password on your firewall/router now — default device passwords are an automatic Cyber Essentials fail.
What “good” looks like for Firewalls & internet gateways
- Turn on the built-in software firewall on every laptop and desktop, especially devices used away from the office.
- Change any default router/firewall admin passwords to strong, unique ones.
- Close inbound services you don't need; for anything that must stay open, write down why.
See where you stand in 5 minutes
Answer the Cyber Essentials questions in plain English and get a per-control readiness verdict — free, no login needed, and we don't store your answers.
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This is a free readiness / gap report to help you prepare — it is not a certification, and we are not an IASME Certification Body. To certify, you apply through an accredited Certification Body.