We were thrilled to welcome attendees to our biggest event so far: Cyber Connect 2025, a one-day, educational event all about cyber security, with special guest speakers from Microsoft, Sophos and the North East Regional Cyber Crime Unit – plus a live hack demonstration and talks from our own team.
Hosted in The Village Hotel in Newcastle, we welcomed record-numbers of guests with a goodie bag, breakfast refreshments and a chance to win some fantastic hampers by testing their cyber security knowledge – and this was all before the day really began!
Seated in the main event space, Founder and Director Christopher Potts took to the stage to start the day, introduce our guest speakers and give us a personal insight into his passion for staying at the forefront of technology, from a very young age – with a little bit of demonstrative help from AI.
Modern Workplace Specialist James Graves, of Giacom, was up next, delivering a fantastic talk on threat actors, on-going developments in cyber security and the added protection and value of Microsoft Business Premium before exploring a run-down of the most common threat types and actionable steps you can take to protect yourself.
Next, Cyber Protect Officers Charlotte Knill and Jessica Oughtred, joined by colleagues from police forces across the region, represented the North East Regional Cyber Crime Unit (NERCCU), which operates within the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit (NEROCU).
Together, they delivered a session on the very real threats and attacks they see every day across our region, alongside an impactful video about the risk of generative AI when in the wrong hands, and the latest trends and stats they see within their team – reaffirming why their cyber awareness training is of such high importance to everyone in attendance.
Our guests were then invited to enjoy a buffet lunch and take the opportunity to network with one another, our experts and our team before an afternoon of interactive, hands-on activities.
We kick-started the afternoon session by splitting guests into two groups, both of which then took part in one of two educational, cyber awareness activities hosted by NERCCU – with the best groups promised a prize for their hard work!
One group tackled their escape room, learning about the importance and impact of good digital hygiene, while the other group enjoyed Decisions and Disruptions, a game which tasks players with the maintenance of a power plant under cyber attack, where every decision is business-critical and the true impacts of an attack are revealed.
Following a small refreshment break, the groups swapped and took part in the opposite task – we’re pleased to say that all groups escaped, and we had a record-breaking result in Decisions and Disruptions: a team successfully protected their power plant and finished with the same share value they started with!
Technology Evangelist Jon Hope joined us from Sophos, taking to the stage to deliver a fascinating talk entitled Instinct Vs. AI, which saw Jon take a pragmatic view of both the good and bad when it comes to AI. From real problems to real solutions, whilst highlighting the continued importance of human input alongside the huge benefit a robust MDR solution can bring to your business – and your peace of mind.
Finally, Service Desk Specialist Jordan Dooley joined Christopher Potts on stage to demonstrate a real-time hack on a fictional person (rather bravely choosing ‘Liam Neeson’ – hopefully he won’t find him…).
Jordan’s demonstration proved just how easy it is to fall victim of an attack, with side-by-side visuals from both the hacker and the victim’s perspective. His demonstration showed how often you won’t even realise until it’s too late – a stark and valuable example of the collective importance of being cyber security aware.
Cyber Connect 2025 concluded with final goodbyes and thank you from Marketing Manager Connor Thomas, who was on hand throughout the day making sure the event ran smoothly, and our guests were taken care of.
We’d like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who attended Cyber Connect 2025, both as attendees but also to our guest speakers. It was fantastic to be able to bring so many people together to learn from external experts and our own team.
We hope everyone who was able to attend found the day valuable, and we’re already looking forward to next year’s.
