CREST Marketplace FAQs

What is CREST Marketplace and who is it for?

Over 500+ CREST-accredited service providers with people and organisations looking for trusted cybersecurity services.

Whether you’re:

• Buying cyber services for your organisation
• A current or future CREST Member
• A cybersecurity practitioner
• Working in government or regulation
• In academia or research
• A journalist
• A student or early career professional
• Part of law enforcement
• A contractor or non-profit
• A grant-issuing body or policy organisation

…this platform is designed to help you find trusted expertise, faster and with confidence.

I’m responsible for procurement/buying cybersecurity services. How can I use the CREST Marketplace?

CREST Marketplace helps you find and connect with a global network of accredited cybersecurity providers. Browse and filter trusted service providers, compare match quality, and contact the right organisations directly.

Use it as a decision-support tool to help you:

• Browse and filter providers by capability, accreditation, location and service type
• Compare accredited organisations based on verified expertise
• Contact providers directly based on relevance and fit
• Quickly shortlist your best matches
• Start conversations and move quickly to engagement
• Access helpful resources such as buyer guides and RFP templates (coming soon)

Download our CREST Marketplace Buyer’s Guide to learn more.

As a prospective buyer, what value does CREST bring?

CREST independently assesses cybersecurity providers against defined technical, operational, and ethical standards. This means suppliers listed in CREST Marketplace are not self-declared, their capabilities have been verified.

Unlike general directories, inclusion is based on proven competence in specific services, so CREST accreditation helps buyers evaluates whether a provider:

• Employs qualified and experienced security professionals
• Follows structured and repeatable methodologies
• Produces consistent, reliable outcomes
• Operates with appropriate governance and quality assurance
• Handles sensitive data responsibly and ethically

CREST Marketplace uses this trusted assessment data to help buyers:

• Reduce supplier risk
• Avoid unverified providers
• Shortlist organisations with relevant proven capability
• Support audit and governance requirements
• Make informed, defensible procurement decisions

You can search for providers aligned to your needs and then:

• Narrow your shortlist using filters
• Compare verified capabilities
• Contact suppliers directly

Find an accredited provider today.

I’m a CREST Member. How does CREST Marketplace help me and my company?

If you’re a CREST Member, CREST Marketplace helps you:

• Be found based on what you are accredited to deliver
• Show your services clearly and accurately
• Appear in buyer searches using 22 structured filters
• Receive better-matched enquiries
• Turn your profile into a digital shop window

A complete profile means:

• Better visibility for your services and accreditations
• You appear in the right searches
• You receive better-fit inbound enquiries

This all creates potential for more qualified commercial conversations with prospective clients.

An incomplete Member profile will still appear on CREST Marketplace, but:

• Less information will show
• You may appear in fewer searches
• Buyers may not see your full capability

Completing your profile helps you get the most value from CREST Marketplace. Login to your Member portal to keep your profile updated.

Do I have to pay to use CREST Marketplace?

CREST Marketplace is free for everyone to use. You can search, filter and contact providers at no cost. However, to access the full filtering capability, you’ll need to create an account. It’s fast, easy and you’ll be able to narrow down your search and find the right provider in minutes.

We already work with suppliers. Why would we use this?

Many organisations already have trusted partners. CREST Marketplace helps when you need:

• New specialist expertise
• A second opinion
• To validate potential suppliers

Why not just use Google or recommendations?

Search engines and referrals are useful, but they don’t verify capability.

CREST Marketplace shows:

• Independently accredited providers
• Verified expertise
• Recognised standards

This helps reduce risk before you even speak to suppliers.

How do I know these providers are credible?

CREST is an international not-for-profit body that sets standards for cybersecurity service providers and independently assesses organisations against them. To be listed in CREST Marketplace, all providers must undergo a formal assessment of their capability, processes, and governance.

This includes reviewing whether the provider:

• Uses qualified and experienced security professionals
• Follows defined and repeatable testing or response methodologies
• Produces consistent and reliable outcomes
• Protects sensitive client information appropriately
• Operates under recognised professional standards

As a result, every provider shown is:

• CREST-accredited
• Independently assessed
• Verified for certain specialist services (as highlighted on their profile)

This helps you rely on verified capability rather than marketing descriptions and supports more confident, defensible supplier selection.

We need evidence for procurement and governance. Can this help?

Yes. CREST Marketplace supports:

• Due diligence
• Audit requirements
• Internal justification

You can show that your decisions are based on verified standards.

What if we need very niche expertise?

That’s where the filters help. You can search by:

• Specific disciplines
• Accreditation types
• Location
• Capability

This makes it easier to find true specialists that fit the criteria you need.

Is this just another supplier directory?

No. Consider CREST Marketplace as a decision-support tool, designed to:

• Help you shortlist faster
• Reduce risk
• Compare verified capability

It’s built to make more confident supplier choices, more easily.

I’m a CREST Member, why should I update my profile?

CREST Marketplace gets you noticed by high-intent cybersecurity buyers. A complete, detailed profile strengthens your chances of selection. You will:

• Appear in buyer searches
• Showcase your specific services and offer clearly
• Attract more qualified enquiries that are a better fit for your business

If you don’t update your profile, your organisation will still appear, but:

• Less information will show
• You may appear in fewer searches
• Buyers may not see your full capability

Completing your profile helps you get the most value. It only takes around 5 minutes to update.

Is it a lead generation tool?

CREST Marketplace helps improve the quality and relevance of enquiries by giving buyers clearer, more specific information. Buyers using CREST Marketplace have real intent, they know what they need and are actively shortlisting, so the leads you receive will be a stronger match for your offer.

We’re a small CREST Member company. Will we get lost?

Buyers search by capability, not company size, CREST Markeplace helps to level the playing field.

I’m a journalist. How does CREST Marketplace help me?

CREST Marketplace gives you a fast, reliable way to find expert voices and accurate information when reporting on cybersecurity issues.

Journalists, editors and producers working across trade, national and specialist media can use CREST Marketplace to:

• Source credible, independently verified cybersecurity experts for commentary, interviews and analysis
• Fact‑check technical claims or confirm details for news stories and editorial pieces
• Check the accreditation status of organisations featured in coverage
• Avoid unverified or unreliable sources by identifying trusted providers

I’m a student. How can I use CREST Marketplace?

You can browse CREST Marketplace to find CREST-accredited cyber organisations, learn about industry pathways, and discover potential employers.

I’m not a CREST Member. How do I join?

If you’re a cybersecurity provider looking to get in front of buyers who need accredited, high-quality providers, you can apply to become a CREST Member.

CREST membership is tied to accreditation. To join, organisations complete the CREST Accreditation process, which assesses governance, security controls, methodologies and technical capability against rigorous global standards.

Find out about CREST membership

I work in Government & Regulation – why should I use CREST Marketplace?

CREST Marketplace shows only CREST-accredited providers, who have been assessed against our rigorous professional standards. This supports better governance, reduces procurement risk and helps you give clear justification of your supplier choices.

I work in law enforcement, how can I use CREST Marketplace?

If you work in law enforcement, you can use CREST Marketplace to quickly identify trusted cybersecurity organisations and specialists with verified capability to support investigations or provide technical services. CREST Marketplace helps you find the right accredited experts faster, so you can engage reliable support when you need it.

I work in academia and research, how is this useful for me?

If you work in academia or research, CREST Marketplace is a useful resource for connecting with the wider cybersecurity community. You can use it to:

• Find accredited industry partners
• Support research collaboration
• Find guest speakers with specialist knowledge
• Identify cyber expertise and different pathways/specialisms
• Connect your students with prospective employers

You can also explore training opportunities and skills pathways through CREST’s Training Partners. Visit the CREST Training Partners page to learn more.