North West

Alison Lincoln, ICT Manager of Projects and Customer Delivery, Blackpool Council

Sarah Fannon, Head of ICT Service Operations, Manchester City Council

During this session we will use Lego pieces to replicate the setup of a new business as a power plant. You will be the decision makers and must decide on the security options for the plant year on year. Utilising your skills as an IT Technician you must decide what security steps are most necessary for protecting your new business and what could wait until the next years budget. This exercise will get you thinking about your cyber security and how we need to take necessary precautions to avoid asset loss within business. You must work together as a team and try to avoid as much monetary loss as possible as we move through the game and try to beat other teams to achieve the most profit. Are you up for the challenge?

Fiona McNichol, Cyber Protect Officer, North West Regional Organised Crime Unit

An update against the Cyber Assessment Framework (CAF) and Defend as One.

Eloise Siani Djiakoua, Associate Collaboration and Engagement Manager, Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government 

Jisc will be sharing insight and practical tips on how Local Government organisations can check whether they’re optimising their Microsoft Defender Endpoint (MDE), an endpoint detection and response (EDR) tool that is often provided alongside Microsoft 365 licensing.

Based on working with many organisations across the public sector to optimise their cloud security, Jisc’s expertise has uncovered that whilst Defender for Endpoint is deployed, it is often not utilising or configured to take advantage of key protective features that will protect you against the threats that target the sector, such as ransomware and hands-on-keyboard threats.    MDE is one of the best EDR tools when it is configured and deployed in line with best practice and Jisc’s mission is to help the sector defend as one and ensure they are increasing the cyber posture of the sector as a whole.

Richard Jackson, Head of Cloud Security, Jisc

Dave Sanderson, Director of Member Services, Socitm

Whether you’re a council leader, data security professional, or strategic decision-maker, this webinar offers a nuanced, yet practical discussion with other business leaders about embracing technological innovation while safeguarding your organization’s most critical assets. Our conversation will discuss how leading  organisations are approaching their plans to:

• Develop robust data security strategies
• Leverage AI to enhance compliance monitoring
• Protect against potential data loss scenarios
• Create a culture of technological resilience

We will “cook off” two powerful solutions—SharePoint Advanced Management (SAM) and the AvePoint Confidence Platform—to see which delivers the tastiest blend of remediation strategies, governance capabilities, and AI-readiness features.

Don’t miss this opportunity to convert AI apprehension into a strategic advantage.

Zoe Grant, Enterprise Senior Account Executive, Avepoint