CHALLENGES AND BEST PRACTICES IN THE EVEREVOLVING LANDSCAPE OF CYBERSECURITY

The latest North West Tech Leaders Forum, hosted by Gardner Systems, was recently held at the Museum of Liverpool Life. It brought together 12 regional tech leaders for a day of insightful discussions. The topic was cybersecurity, which included the current threat landscape, the security skills gap and how, when all else fails, to effectively respond to a cybersecurity incident.

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Joining the tech leaders were industry experts from cybersecurity company Sophos, which included Jon Hope and its Director of Cybersecurity Incident Response, Pete MacKenzie. Initial discussions focused on the current state of ransomware, exploring the sophistication of threats, the professionalism of the threat actors behind them and why some organisations find themselves targeted.

While the cybersecurity threat is often a technically led exercise, its primary target is usually people. This led to a valuable discussion about how sophisticated cybercriminals target people, using techniques built around social engineering and encouraging people to overshare sensitive information, including logon credentials. The session also explored how relying on technology is not enough to combat threats and why proactive threat hunting and real-time detection is essential. But it was also clear how complex a challenge this is for all organisations. This raised a further debate on managed cybersecurity services and as to whether, ultimately, this will become a necessity for most.

The event again highlighted the complex challenge that cybersecurity brings for organisations big and small. But also showed how a forum such as this, bringing together leaders from business and cybersecurity companies, can help to build a better understanding of the challenges we face, and the solutions open to us.

If you have a cybersecurity question or would like to join us and your IT peers at our next forum, then get in contact. You can email us at info@gardnersystems.co.uk

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“We thought long and hard about the repurposing of our company over several years. We became Sustainable Energy First at the point when we could commit to, and accurately measure, a significant carbon reduction.” -

Anthony Mayall, Chief Commercial Officer

The business will look at a 2.5% absolute reduction per year over the next 5 years for their entire client population’s scope 1 (direct) and 2 (indirect) GHG emissions, to further support these businesses and the UK in its trajectory towards net zero, 1.5°C compatible plan by no later than 2050. The decarbonisation target represents a core element of the company’s sustainability strategy and reflects the business’ commitments to assisting its clients with their carbon footprint reduction and establish a framework for climate action.

Sustainable Energy First’s approach is to create sustainable energy opportunities for