Yesterday, we welcomed a full room of guests to the Cathedral Suite at The Pin, Ramside Hall, for Cyber Connect 2.0, our biggest event of the year.
Bringing together businesses from across the region alongside experts from ITC Service, Giacom, Microsoft, usecure and Huntress, the day was built around three ideas: technology opportunities, confidence and the responsibility.
From the changing role of AI at work to the evolving cyber threat, human risk and the importance of securing new technology, there was plenty to talk about. Just as importantly, Cyber Connect provided an opportunity to step away from the day-to-day, ask questions, meet new people and share experiences.
Connor Thomas from ITC Service got Cyber Connect 2.0 underway, setting the scene for the day with a look at both sides of today's technology landscape: the opportunities being created by AI and the responsibility and challenges that come with adopting it.
From real-world examples of AI making a positive difference to the importance of responsible adoption, governance and strong cyber security foundations, the session was designed to get people thinking about where AI fits within their own organisation.
It also touched on something that's easy to overlook: successful AI adoption isn't just about having the technology. Culture, leadership and practical learning all have an important part to play too.
Next up, Chris Jewitt from Giacom brought AI firmly into the workplace with a practical look at Microsoft Copilot and where the technology is heading.
The session explored how businesses can move from using AI for everyday assistance to introducing agents capable of taking on more defined tasks and workflows. It offered a glimpse at how quickly workplace AI is developing, while keeping security, trust and good governance firmly in the conversation.
Mike Argile from Microsoft then took the conversation further with Secure & Govern in the Age of AI with Microsoft.
As AI becomes a bigger part of everyday working life, Mike explored what businesses need around it to adopt the technology with confidence.
From securing identities and protecting sensitive information to understanding how AI is already being used across an organisation, the session highlighted the importance of building security, visibility and governance into AI adoption from the start.
It was a useful reminder that while AI brings exciting opportunities, businesses need the right foundations underneath them if they want to make the most of those opportunities safely.
Putting people at the heart of cyber security
Following a networking lunch-break, Johanna Forsen from usecure shifted the focus towards one of the biggest parts of any organisation's security: its people.
Johanna explored Human Risk Intelligence and how businesses can build a clearer picture of human risk by connecting signals across areas such as security awareness, phishing susceptibility, credential exposure and access.
Rather than simply looking at what security activity has happened, the session focused on understanding where risk is concentrated, what needs attention and where organisations can take more focused action.
There was time for a little friendly competition too - guests put their human risk management knowledge to the test with usecure's interactive quiz, with a LEGO Icons Jaguar E-Type set up for grabs for the winner.
Stepping inside the world of cyber attackers
For our final speaker session, Sasha Roshan, Senior Sales Engineer at Huntress, took us into The World of Shady Hackers.
Sasha brought the modern cyber threat reality to life, covering identity attacks, token theft, phishing and the growing role of AI in helping attackers work faster and at greater scale.
The session also looked at the other side of the equation: how organisations can improve their ability to detect, investigate and respond to threats across endpoints and identities.
It was a fitting way to round off a day that had looked at technology from both directions: the opportunities businesses can embrace and the risks they need to be ready for.
Of course, Cyber Connect 2.0 wasn't just about sitting back and listening. A packed day needed a proper lunch, and The Pin proved to be the perfect spot to network, lunch and learn.
Throughout the day, we encouraged our guests to get up, get talking and track down members of the ITC Service team and our speakers to collect the numbers needed to crack the Cyber Connect code.
For one successful codebreaker, there was a box of goodies from our speakers waiting at the end, including a £100 Amazon voucher courtesy of Huntress.
It added a bit of fun to the day, but more importantly, gave people another reason to introduce themselves, start conversations and make the most of having so many people together in one place.
And when the presentations came to an end, Cyber Connect didn't quite finish there.
Guests were invited to stick around and join the ITC Service team and speakers for some more informal networking, with bowling, the driving range and shuffleboard offering a slightly different way to finish the day.
After a full day talking about AI and cyber security, a little friendly competition felt like a pretty good way to round things off.
Most importantly, thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make Cyber Connect 2.0 such a fantastic day.
Cyber Connect was created to give businesses the chance to step away from some of the noise surrounding AI and cyber security, ask questions, hear different perspectives and hopefully head back to work with something useful to take away.
A huge thank you also goes to Connor Thomas, Chris Jewitt, Mike Argile, Johanna Forsen and Sasha Roshan for sharing their time and expertise, and for being part of the day.
And finally, thank you to everyone who stayed around afterwards, whether you picked up a bowling ball, headed to the driving range, tried your hand at shuffleboard or simply stayed for another chat.
Cyber Connect 2.0 might be over, but we're hoping plenty of the conversations that started there are only just beginning.
If something from the day got you thinking about AI, Microsoft 365 or cyber security in your own organisation, get in touch with the ITC Service team and let's keep the conversation going.