Gateshead Council Turns to Aspire to contain a live Cyber Incident

The Challenge

Gateshead Council engaged Aspire during a live cyber security incident that required immediate specialist intervention.

Initial investigation confirmed malicious activity within the Council’s network, prompting an immediate shift to containment and the protection of critical services. The Council mobilised its technical response and incident management structures without delay, recognising that in a local authority environment, disruption can have direct operational and reputational consequences.

Aspire was brought in to work alongside the Council’s internal IT team, supporting investigation and containment and helping establish a clear understanding of the incident’s scope. Decisive action was taken to restrict access to key systems while the investigation progressed, balancing operational continuity with risk containment. Senior leaders were briefed in real-time, enabling immediate decisions that limited further exposure.

Frontline services continued to operate, with disruption contained and communicated in a clear and measured way. Through this coordinated response, the incident was contained and the environment stabilised.

The quality of Aspire’s response gave the Council confidence not only in the technical capability provided, but in the communication, discipline and understanding of public sector operating pressures demonstrated throughout. This trusted partnership and alignment with the Council’s operational environment underpinned the decision to move forward with a long-term SOC capability.

Aspire’s Solution

Following the incident, Gateshead Council chose to retain Aspire’s SOC capability through RealProtect Complete managed security.

The Council now benefits from continuous 24/7 monitoring across Microsoft 365, identity, endpoints, infrastructure and cloud services, with security activity consolidated to provide a single, unified view of risk.

All alerts are triaged and investigated directly by Aspire’s SOC team before escalation, significantly reducing noise and removing the burden of constant monitoring from internal IT team members. Confirmed threats are escalated with context and coordinated response actions where required.

The service operates as an integrated extension of Gateshead Council’s existing IT and security function, with clear escalation routes and live visibility of incidents through a secure customer portal. Structured monthly reporting highlights threat trends, risk exposure and recommended improvements, supporting governance oversight and leadership assurance.

Working with Aspire

RealProtect Complete managed security now forms part of Gateshead Council’s wider cyber security framework.

Gateshead Council retains strategic oversight while benefiting from round the clock specialist investigation and response capability. Internal teams are supported with prioritised intelligence rather than raw alert data, reducing operational burden and enabling focus on long-term resilience. Since implementing the service, the Council has achieved faster threat detection and a measurable reduction in its external attack surface.