How ForHousing Built an Operational Cybersecurity Partnership with SCC
ForHousing owns and manages around 19,000 homes across the North West, providing safe, well-maintained homes and customer-focused services supported by business-critical digital systems and technology platforms.
About ForHousing
ForHousing owns and manages around 19,000 homes across the North West. It is committed to making a positive difference to the lives of its social housing tenants and the communities it serves. The organisation provides safe, well-maintained homes and delivers customer-focused, equitable and efficient services, supported by a broad range of business-critical digital systems and technology platforms.
The Challenge
As cyber threats continued to evolve, ForHousing wanted to strengthen its ability to detect, investigate and respond to potential security incidents while supporting a large and diverse technology environment.
With a relatively small internal ICT and Cyber Security team, the organisation was looking for more than an additional security tool. It required specialist expertise, continuous monitoring, meaningful reporting and clear governance through a service that would work alongside its existing teams.
The aim was to complement internal capability with additional monitoring, investigation and escalation support. This would help the team maintain visibility of security activity while continuing to focus on wider operational, infrastructure and cyber security priorities.
Following a formal procurement exercise, ForHousing selected SCC to provide a Managed Extended Detection and Response (MXDR) service. MXDR provides continuous security monitoring and specialist support for detecting, investigating and responding to potential threats.
The Partnership
Since go-live, the relationship has developed into a collaborative operational partnership between SCC’s security specialists and ForHousing’s ICT and Cyber Security teams.
Regular service reviews provide a structured opportunity to consider security incidents, service performance, emerging risks, reporting requirements and proposed improvements.
A key strength of the relationship has been the willingness of both organisations to review and refine the service over time. Feedback raised through service reviews has led to improvements in detection tuning, notification management, reporting and incident communications. SCC has responded constructively to requests for change and worked with ForHousing to keep the service relevant, effective and aligned with operational requirements.
The partnership is supported by regular communication, responsiveness and a shared focus on practical security outcomes.
Outcomes
Continuous Monitoring and Specialist Support
The service provides continuous monitoring and access to specialist cyber security expertise, complementing the knowledge and experience already present within the ForHousing team.
Support for Internal Capability
Monitoring, initial investigation and escalation support help the internal team maintain oversight of security activity while focusing on wider operational, infrastructure and cyber security priorities.
Improved Visibility and Governance
Regular reporting and structured service reviews provide greater visibility of security incidents, emerging trends and service performance. This supports operational decision-making, service oversight and wider cyber governance activities.
More Relevant and Actionable Alerts
ForHousing and SCC have worked together to refine detections and reduce unnecessary notifications. This has helped make alerts more relevant and actionable for the internal team.
Continual Service Improvement
The service is reviewed and developed over time rather than being treated as a static monitoring solution. Service reviews provide a clear route for raising feedback, agreeing improvements and monitoring their implementation.
Responsive Service Delivery
SCC has been responsive to operational questions, service requests and security incidents. Improvements to notification handling and incident communications have also made information easier for the internal team to manage and act upon.
Looking Ahead
ForHousing continues to work with SCC through regular service reviews and agreed improvement activities.
Current discussions include enhanced reporting, improved dashboard visibility, emerging cyber security risks and future service development. The focus remains on ensuring that the service evolves alongside ForHousing’s operational requirements and changing threat landscapes.
We wanted a service that would strengthen our internal cyber security capability, not replace it. SCC delivered the onboarding programme within a challenging timeframe and worked closely with our team throughout the implementation process.
Matthew Wilde – IT Operations Manager, ForHousing
The greatest value has come from the ongoing working relationship. SCC responds when something needs attention and acts constructively on feedback. This helps us continually improve the service while allowing our internal team to focus on wider operational and security priorities.