Cyber Resilience Test Facilities (CRTF) / Principals Based Assurance (PBA) Buyers Guide
How to Prepare Your Product for Independent Cyber Assurance
Executive Summary
This briefing document is intended for procurement teams, risk owners, and security reviewers evaluating technology suppliers under increasing cyber assurance expectations.
What CRTF and PBA Are?
Cyber Resilience Test Facilities (CRTF) is a UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) framework that enables independent validation of product security claims. Principles-Based Assurance (PBA) is the methodology used within CRTF to assess whether security outcomes are achieved in practice across design, build, deployment, and operation.
What This Means for Buyers?
CRTF shifts assurance from supplier self-attestation to independent, evidence-driven validation. Instead of relying on certifications, questionnaires, and point-in-time tests, buyers receive structured assurance demonstrating that security claims have been independently evaluated.
What Buyers Gain?
Reduced due-diligence effort and fewer bespoke questionnaires
Clear, product-specific assurance rather than organisation-wide claims
Confidence that security has been assessed in real-world operating conditions
Faster, more defensible procurement decisions
How CRTF Complements Existing Standards?
CRTF does not replace ISO 27001, SOC 2, penetration testing, or other standards. It provides independent validation that existing controls and practices are effective in practice and continuously maintained.
What to Ask Suppliers?
What security claims are being made about the product?
What evidence supports those claims?
Has the evidence been independently validated?
How is assurance maintained as the product evolves?
CRTF-aligned assurance reduces supply chain risk, improves trust, and enables confident, defensible procurement decisions.
Our Differentiator
We don’t just assess, we operationalise assurance.
Structured evidence management
Repeatable assessment workflows
Continuous assurance delivery
Next Steps
CRTF readiness is not just about meeting a framework, it’s about making trust easy for your customers.
Book a CRTF / PBA Readiness Assessment
Request a product gap analysis
Speak to an assurance expert info@securlab.io