Regular automated security testing
Live within hours with no disruption. The ICT team gets consistent findings instead of waiting for the next manual review.
Industry
Housing
Company size
Approximately 35 colleagues using IT across the office and wider estate
Environment
Microsoft 365, Microsoft Defender and an IT environment supporting office and estate-based users
Service
Automated security testing and Cloud Email Security
Objective
Replace manual security checks with regular testing, strengthen protection beyond Microsoft 365 and create a clearer process for identifying and remediating cyber security risks
Linthouse Housing Association supports around 1,800 tenant and factored-owner accounts from Govan, Glasgow. Staff training, Microsoft Defender and in-house security checks were already in place.
But phishing was getting more convincing. Manual checks took time, gave only a snapshot and could miss weaknesses from changes to devices, software and settings. Linthouse wanted more visibility without running security testing in-house.
“Thinking you’ve got everything in place isn’t the same as having it validated externally.”
Colin Jones, ICT Manager, Linthouse Housing Association
Intouch Tech brought in regular security testing, layered email protection and structured remediation.
Live within hours with no disruption. The ICT team gets consistent findings instead of waiting for the next manual review.
An extra layer on top of Microsoft 365 catches financial lures, credential theft and impersonation that slip past native filtering.
Findings became a prioritised task list, with later reports verifying progress.
Linthouse receives close to 19,000 emails each month. Nearly 1% was phishing or malware that had passed Microsoft 365, with Intouch remediating 100% of those messages.
Every threat that passed Microsoft’s native filtering was caught. Layered security complements Microsoft 365 rather than replacing it.
Around
Messages like these look legitimate, often with no malware at all.
Around
Almost half of monthly email triggered a warning before it was opened.
Attackers posed as Microsoft, Apple and Google, and some Microsoft-themed phishing passed Microsoft’s own filtering. Sender identity and intent matter more than a familiar name.
More than
Flagged before staff replied to an unfamiliar request.
Almost
Bulk mail kept out of primary inboxes, so important messages stand out.
More than
A cleaner inbox and less exposure to suspicious messages.
Regular testing also found weaknesses across the IT environment that device-by-device checks missed.
Nearly
of identified security findings have already been remediated
of the critical issues identified resolved
Findings feed Linthouse’s action list, so progress is tracked over time.
The biggest change is a repeatable, measurable security process. Findings are prioritised, fixes are verified by retesting and suspicious email is caught after Microsoft’s first line of defence.
Regular reporting shows what was detected, what was fixed and what comes next. That gives auditors evidence that controls are tested, not assumed.
“There was no hard sell, and I wasn’t bombarded with calls or emails. That was a really refreshing change.”
Colin Jones, ICT Manager, Linthouse Housing Association
Industry
Housing
Company size
Approximately 35 colleagues using IT across the office and wider estate
Environment
Microsoft 365, Microsoft Defender and an IT environment supporting office and estate-based users
Service
Penetration testing and email security
The CHALLENGE
Linthouse was already taking cyber security seriously. Its staff received security training, Microsoft Defender was in place and the ICT team carried out its own security checks. However, phishing emails were becoming increasingly convincing, while changes to software or security settings could create weaknesses without immediately being noticed. Many of the checks were also manual, requiring internal time while only providing a snapshot of the environment at the point they were completed. Linthouse needed a more consistent and independent way to identify vulnerabilities without having to build and manage the entire testing process internally.
Thinking you’ve got everything in place isn’t the same as having it validated externally.
Colin Jones — ICT Manager, Linthouse Housing Association
The solution
Automated security testing was introduced to provide Linthouse with greater visibility of potential vulnerabilities across its IT environment. A small testing device arrived the following day and began producing results within hours, without disrupting normal operations. Rather than relying solely on manual checks, the ICT team could now identify weaknesses more consistently and understand where attention was required.
Intouch Tech also introduced an additional layer of email protection alongside Linthouse's existing Microsoft environment. Suspicious and malicious emails could be identified, flagged and quarantined before creating unnecessary risk for users.
Finding vulnerabilities was only the first step. Security findings were added to Linthouse's action list, giving the ICT team a structured way to prioritise issues, address the most important weaknesses first and use subsequent reports to confirm that vulnerabilities had been resolved.
The results
21
Security findings identified
5
Findings remediated
3
Critical issues resolved
197
Malicious emails quarantined in 30 days
146
Additional emails flagged for review
Ongoing IMpact
The biggest improvement was not simply finding individual vulnerabilities. Linthouse now has a more structured security process. Findings feed directly into an action list and can be reviewed each month. Subsequent testing provides evidence that remediation has been completed successfully, while the ICT team has a clearer view of which issues should be tackled next. Regular testing also provides evidence of security activity and progress that can be shown to external auditors. Instead of relying primarily on manual checks, Linthouse now has a repeatable process for identifying weaknesses, prioritising remediation and measuring improvement.
There was no hard sell, and I wasn’t bombarded with calls or emails. That was a really refreshing change.
Colin Jones — ICT Manager, Linthouse Housing Association
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UK-based team, since 2012