SC.1 Remove or Disable Unused Software
Remove or disable unnecessary user accounts, software, and services on devices to reduce the attack surface.
Source: UK Cyber Essentials, SC.1. The statement above is our statement of the clause, read from the published text and cited so you can check it against the official text, not the instrument verbatim. Open UK Cyber Essentials in the compliance library.
The version of the requirements is not stamped here; check the question set your certification body uses.
These are the artefacts auditors commonly ask for on this requirement, our guidance rather than text from the standard. Your assessor decides what is sufficient in your context, and asks for samples across the period when a report covers one.
system holds itEvidence a system already holds
none for this control
periodic reviewEvidence produced at each review
none for this control
governing documentDocuments that govern the control
- Gold image documentation · Policy repository / GRC workspace
- Installed software inventory · Policy repository / GRC workspace
- Disabled services list · Policy repository / GRC workspace
First move
Common gaps auditors find
- OEM bloatware retained
- guest accounts active
Do this for your whole sheet
Paste the rows you run your controls from and get this mapping for every control at once, with the periodic-review ones flagged and a first move per row. No account for the first run.
Build my evidence sheetMP.4 Application Allowlisting (Alternative) · SC.2 Change Default Passwords on Devices and Software