Cybersecurity is something every business needs to take seriously. But understanding how an attack happens, the damage it can cause and what recovery actually looks like is another matter entirely.
On Thursday 29 October 2026, Sunrise Technologies brought Cyber Security Live to the Holiday Inn Basildon, bringing together local businesses and leading cybersecurity organisations for a morning of practical demonstrations, expert insights and conversations about protecting businesses against cyber threats.
Joined by Essex Police, the Cyber Resilience Centre for the East and Kaseya, we wanted to deliver something different from a traditional cybersecurity presentation.
Rather than simply talking about cyber threats, we wanted attendees to experience how they happen, understand the measures they can take to protect themselves and see what effective recovery looks like when things go wrong.
From an eye-opening cybersecurity challenge to a live recovery demonstration, the morning highlighted one important message: cybersecurity isn't just about preventing an attack. It's about understanding your risks, preparing your business and knowing how to respond.
Cyber Resilience Centre for the East: Practical Advice Businesses Can Use Today
The morning began with insights from the Cyber Resilience Centre for the East, who explored the cybersecurity challenges facing businesses and the practical steps organisations can take to improve their resilience.
Their presentation combined statistics, information about cyber threats and useful resources that attendees could take away and implement within their own businesses.
Importantly, the session wasn't simply about highlighting risks. It was about helping businesses understand what they could actually do about them.
From useful websites and online resources to straightforward security recommendations, attendees were given practical starting points for reviewing their existing arrangements.
For many businesses, cybersecurity can feel like a complicated subject filled with technical terminology and unfamiliar requirements.
However, improving security doesn't always begin with expensive technology. It can start with understanding where your business is vulnerable, reviewing existing processes and ensuring employees have access to the right information.
The session reinforced the importance of taking a proactive approach rather than waiting for an incident to expose weaknesses.
Essex Police: A Frightening Look at How Hackers Build Their Attacks
Next, Essex Police delivered one of the morning's most memorable experiences: an interactive, escape-room-style cybersecurity challenge.
Rather than presenting a conventional talk, they invited attendees to explore how a cybercriminal might gather information about an individual and use it to construct a convincing false identity.
The experience demonstrated just how much information can be collected from seemingly harmless sources.
Small details, which might appear insignificant individually, can become valuable when combined with other information.
The challenge showed how an attacker could gradually build a profile of someone, understand their connections and use that knowledge to make a fraudulent interaction appear legitimate.
It was a frightening reminder that cyber attacks don't always begin with sophisticated technology.
Sometimes, they begin with information that people willingly share, or with an attacker convincing someone that they are a person they can trust.
For businesses, this is particularly important.
Employees, directors and suppliers all form part of an organisation's security environment. Understanding how social engineering works is essential to reducing the likelihood of someone being deceived into sharing sensitive information or granting access.
The Essex Police challenge brought that message to life in a way that a traditional presentation simply couldn't.
Kaseya: What Happens When a Business Gets Hacked?
Preventing cyber attacks is important, but no organisation should assume that prevention alone is enough.
That was the focus of the next session, delivered by Kaseya.
Through a live demonstration, attendees were shown what recovery following a cyber incident can look like when the right backup and recovery systems are in place.
The demonstration was particularly striking because of how quickly the recovery process took place.
In approximately five minutes, Kaseya demonstrated recovery using a secure backup solution.
For businesses that depend on their technology to operate, the ability to recover systems and information quickly can make an enormous difference.
However, there was an equally important lesson behind the demonstration.
A backup system is only valuable if it is correctly configured, maintained, monitored and tested.
Simply having a backup doesn't guarantee that a business will be able to recover successfully following an attack.
Organisations need to understand what is being backed up, how frequently backups are taken, whether those backups are protected and how restoration would work in a real incident.
The demonstration illustrated what well-managed recovery technology can achieve, although actual recovery times will vary depending on the systems affected and the nature of an incident.
And that led directly into the final session of the morning.
Sunrise Technologies: Do You Know Which Doors Are Open in Your Business?
To conclude Cyber Security Live, the Sunrise Technologies team brought the morning's discussions together with a question for every business owner:
How many doors are open in your business, and do you even know which ones they are?
We weren't talking about the physical doors to your office. We were talking about the gaps in your cybersecurity.
Every business has potential entry points that could be exploited if they aren't properly understood and managed.
These might include outdated software, poorly configured systems, weak access controls, inadequate policies, insufficient employee training or backup arrangements that haven't been tested.
Some of these weaknesses may be obvious. Others can remain unnoticed for months or even years.
The challenge is that businesses cannot effectively manage risks they don't know exist.
Throughout the morning, attendees had seen how attackers gather information, how security weaknesses can be exploited and how technology can help organisations recover.
Our final session focused on bringing those lessons back to the individual business.
What systems do you rely on? Who has access to them? What safeguards are in place? And how confident are you that those safeguards are working?
Cybersecurity isn't a one-off exercise.
It requires ongoing attention, clear responsibilities, documented processes and technology that is actively managed.
Introducing the Business IT Risk Assessment
As part of our closing presentation, we introduced attendees to the Sunrise Technologies Business IT Risk Assessment.
The assessment is designed to help businesses take a closer look at their existing IT arrangements and identify areas that may require further attention.
It explores five important areas:
Compliance – Understanding the standards, requirements and responsibilities relevant to your business.
Technology – Reviewing the systems and infrastructure supporting your operations.
Risk Management – Identifying and managing potential threats to your organisation.
Operational Resilience – Considering how well your business could continue operating or recover following disruption.
Foundational Security – Reviewing the essential safeguards that help protect your systems, people and information.
By exploring these areas, businesses can begin to build a clearer picture of their IT risks and the opportunities available to improve their security and resilience.
The aim isn't to create unnecessary concern. It's to help businesses make informed decisions.
After all, you can't close a door if you don't know it's open.
Thank You to Everyone Who Joined Us
Cyber Security Live was a fantastic opportunity to bring together businesses, cybersecurity specialists and organisations working to improve cyber resilience across Essex.
We would like to extend a huge thank you to Essex Police, the Cyber Resilience Centre for the East and Kaseya for their contributions, expertise and engaging demonstrations.
Each organisation brought a different perspective to the morning, helping attendees understand not only the threats businesses face but also the practical steps they can take to protect themselves.
We would also like to thank everyone who joined us at the Holiday Inn Basildon, took part in the activities, asked questions and contributed to the conversations throughout the event.
Cybersecurity affects businesses of every size, and events like this provide an opportunity to share knowledge, challenge assumptions and encourage organisations to take a closer look at their security arrangements.
We look forward to bringing more events like this to the local business community.
How Secure Is Your Business?
You don't need to wait for a cyber incident to discover weaknesses in your IT systems.
Whether you're concerned about cybersecurity, compliance, business continuity or the reliability of your technology, understanding your current position is the first step towards improving it.
Start with our Business IT Risk Assessment and discover where your organisation may have gaps that need attention.