What we have been shortlisted for

Rising Star Award recognises an up-and-coming individual who is making clear progress in the North East cyber security sector. The criteria look for potential, expertise, a record of delivery, and the skills that point toward a future leader. Our very own Damien Harrison is nominated.

Business or Cyber Team of the Year celebrates a team with standout outcomes from cyber activity. Judges consider business growth, contribution to the regional ecosystem, practical change, and future potential. Bondgate IT is shortlisted in this category.

Both categories are full of exceptional entries from across the North of England, including teams at Sage, Accenture, Punk Security, and James Jones and Sons. To be among this field is a result in itself. As the only Tees Valley based nominees, we are pleased to carry the flag for our area and to keep the conversation focused on cyber security where it belongs.

Why this matters for the North East

Cyber incidents are no longer remote headlines. They affect people, pay, and public services. Over the last year we have seen how a single attack can ripple through jobs, supply chains, and community services. The North East has a strong culture of cooperation and that helps us respond together. Awards are not the end goal. They provide a platform to share what is working and to raise the standard across the board.

That is why we invest time in training, simple playbooks, and response drills that are realistic for SMEs and charities. Our approach is to remove clutter, focus on practical controls, and give clear steps that can be followed when pressure rises.

Rising Star shortlist: Damien Harrison

Damien leads from the front with a people-first mindset. He supports boards and managers to understand risk in plain English, and he brings service teams and end users into the plan rather than leaving security as a specialist task. As a chapter lead with Tech Tribe Middlesbrough, he has helped create a local forum where practitioners can share lessons, compare notes, and support apprentices coming into the sector.

Inside Bondgate IT, Damien has pushed three areas that have made a difference:

• Clear guidance for non-technical leaders. Simple governance checklists and board packs that help finance and operations leads see the relative risks, costs, and priorities.
• Habits over hype. Regular awareness sessions that address real scams seen in our region, including AI powered phishing and QR related fraud. The goal is confident staff who pause, check, and report.
• Measured response. Incident playbooks that emphasise early containment, communication, and recovery with suppliers and insurers. Less drama. More structure.

Damien’s track record shows consistent delivery across training, response readiness, and leadership mentoring. That is why this nomination fits.

Business or Cyber Team of the Year shortlist: Bondgate IT

Our team is built around steady delivery, care for clients, and practical defences. We support organisations across the North East, with a strong base in Tees Valley. The work covers service desk, managed security, governance support, and business continuity. We measure success by stability, fewer incidents, and faster recovery when problems do arise.

What set us apart for the judges

• Regional contribution. We deliver free talks and workshops with partners and local groups, helping staff learn how to spot and stop common scams.
• Growth built on trust. Steady expansion through referrals and long term partnerships, not quick wins. We choose relationships that value transparency.
• Practical learning from live events. We share anonymised insights from real incidents. That gives clients a clear view of how attacks start and what could have blocked them earlier.
• Future potential. Continued investment in apprentices and junior engineers, training paths, and leadership development so the next wave of talent is ready.

Mini case notes with raw numbers

Short examples often teach more than general statements. Here are three anonymised notes from the last twelve months.

• Professional services, 85 staff. Rollout of phishing simulations and short live workshops. Click rate dropped from 19 percent to 6 percent after two cycles. Report rate climbed from 8 percent to 27 percent. Two suspected compromises were prevented by staff reporting early.
• Charity, 40 staff, volunteers distributed. Password manager and MFA adoption across Microsoft 365 and accounting software. Reused password matches fell from 112 to 9 within eight weeks. Average helpdesk time saved on resets was 7.5 hours per month.
• Manufacturer, 120 staff, multi site. Segmented backups with regular recovery drills. First full recovery test took 11 hours. Third test reduced to 4 hours. Power loss event later in the year required partial restore of 3 systems. Downtime limited to a single shift.

Why people-first security still wins

Tools are essential, but people decide outcomes. Fake payment pages, urgent emails, and consent token scams all depend on human decisions. That is why simple habits carry so much weight. Pause before action. Verify using a separately sourced contact. Use multi factor. Update early. Use a password manager so strong unique logins become routine. These are not glamorous steps. They are the steps that work.

For a view on why this matters beyond the office, look at recent reporting on cyber incidents affecting everyday services and families. One example is covered by the BBC here: read the article. The point is clear. Security is no longer a background task. It is part of how we protect confidence in daily life.

How to support the region’s cyber momentum

• Leaders: ask for a one page cyber posture summary with three actions, owners, and dates. Keep it on every board agenda.
• Managers: schedule bite size training. Fifteen minutes per session. Use real examples from your inbox.
• IT teams: simplify. Remove unused accounts and legacy apps. Make patching and backups boring and regular.
• Everyone: A-B-C. Assume nothing. Believe no one. Check everything.

Thank you to our peers and partners

We appreciate the hard work across the ecosystem. From large enterprises to specialist boutiques and volunteer groups, the North East shows what cooperation can do. Recognition at CyberNorth is a shared moment. Congratulations to every nominee, including the teams at Sage, Accenture, Punk Security, and James Jones and Sons.

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Last updated: 06 October 2025