Fordway’s Cybersecurity Forum raises £1,500 for Little Lives Children’s Charity

Nov 25, 2022

Fordway’s Cybersecurity Forum was held in the iconic Royal Institution, Mayfair, earlier this month.

With a 200-year history of connecting people with the world of science and inspiring them to think more deeply about science and its place in our lives, the venue was a fitting space to discuss the latest tools and technologies in cloud security.

The event brought together current Fordway customers and potential new connections, among them the Royal National Institute for the Blind, Royal College of Nursing, Ministry of Justice, University of the Arts London, Trade Remedies Authority and Ferrovial.

The event allowed people to see what services are on offer, what they might be missing out on, and what they’re not aware of,

Peter O'Farrell

Senior Technology Product Manager, Trade Remedies Authority

Operating at the forefront of the cybersecurity industry, our keynote speaker was Sarah Armstrong-Smith, Chief Security Advisor at Microsoft. Sarah has led a long and impactful career, guiding businesses through digital attacks and teaching organisations how to protect their data.

Cybercrime as a Service (SaaS)

In her session, Sarah provided a detailed update on the latest threat landscape and how security is evolving at a phenomenal pace to keep up with the ever-increasing proliferation of the shadowy world of Cybercrime as a Service (CaaS). The thought-provoking talk bought vital and relevant topics to attention, such as the rapidly evolving nature of Cyber Warfare, and collecting, preserving, and analysing data related to war crimes under investigation. For example, Sarah reflected on Russian network intrusions and cyber espionage operations outside Ukraine. Sarah emphasised the importance of modernising systems and architecture with Microsoft’s capabilities.

Microsoft’s Cybersecurity Reference Architecture

Richard Blanford, Chief Executive of Fordway, then took a deep dive into Microsoft’s Cybersecurity Reference Architecture covering the resources organisations need to achieve effective IT security. Richard’s aim was to ‘get underneath the hood of the latest tools and technologies, detailing how they work, why they are important and how they can benefit businesses. Outlining the tools and services required, Richard focussed on Microsoft’s latest tools and capabilities, explaining how managed services providers, namely Fordway can help organisations to implement and manage their security if they do not have the skills and capabilities in-house.

Analogies in cyberspace and the human brain

The guest speaker was Danny Diskin co-founder and co-director of RAINreforest.org, the Regenerative Agroforestry Impact Network, a reforestation charity he set up after getting sick and getting better amongst the trees of the Amazonian rainforest. Danny’s session explored the mind-blowing intelligence of networks in nature that map and learn about their environment and predict rhythms in time. He also explored analogies in cyberspace and the human brain and the potentials of a more connected world. RAIN supports community-led ecosystem regeneration and food security projects with Indigenous nations, and other marginalised communities in Brazil.

Responding quickly to new opportunities and disruptions, unfettered by legacy constraints, is essential. The focus of the event was to introduce attendees to Microsoft cloud services capabilities, taking away technical jargon and uncovering strategic approaches organisations can take to build better and more resilient cybersecurity defences.

It could be said the event succeeded in unlocking opportunities for attendees and bringing more insight into the new technologies and tools Microsoft can offer, confirmed by positive feedback from attendees. 100% of respondents rated the event as either excellent or very good. 85% found the panel of speakers very interesting, and all respondents said they would recommend a Fordway event to a colleague.

As part of Fordway’s commitment to donate £50 on behalf of every attendee on the day, Fordway was able to raise £1500 for Little Lives UK, a charity committed to tackling technology poverty and helping children receive the tools they need to boost education and career prospects.

If you would be interested in attending or partnering up for a Fordway event in the future, please get in touch.

It’s great to be able to bring customers of Fordway and potential customers together and for them to think about shared experience and shared IT challenges faced in their organisations.

Darren Robinson

Account Manager, Fordway

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