duration

Location
Virtual

Cyber threats and fraud aren’t just an IT issue – they touch every aspect of housing work from buying goods and services, approving invoices to letting homes. This virtual event explains the risks in clear language, shows where things usually go wrong and guard against them.

  • Read more

    Cyber security and fraud are often talked about as ‘IT issues’ or ‘finance issues’ – but in housing, the biggest risks usually sit in everyday processes: raising purchase orders, managing repairs (including DLO), onboarding suppliers, approving invoices, letting homes and placing people into temporary accommodation.

    When a criminal gets one step right – a convincing email, a spoofed supplier, a compromised mailbox – the impact can ripple quickly across services, data and money. Making every organisation only as strong as its “weakest link”.

    This half-day virtual session is designed for everyone involved in key operational processes who need to understand the risk and tighten the basics, without being buried in technical language.

    Delegates will receive a checklist to help you sense-check your current arrangements and prioritise preventative measures.

    We’ll break down how attacks and internal/external fraud typically start, what the attacker is trying to achieve and the practical controls that stop incidents becoming losses. We’ll also look at the ‘grey areas’ where cyber and fraud overlap – for example, invoice diversion, supplier bank detail changes and approvals that can be bypassed when teams are under pressure.

    You’ll hear from an experienced information security leader who specialises in making cyber risk easy to understand for non-technical teams and from HQN experts bringing a governance, assurance and sector lens.

    What to expect?

    • Clear, real-world examples of what criminals do step by step (and why it works)
    • The simple checks that prevent most common routes in: verification, access, approvals and reporting
    • Practical ways to spot issues early using basic data sense-checks and human red flags
    • A straight-talking discussion about what boards and executive teams should ask for and what ‘assurance’ should actually include.

    We’ll keep it grounded and useful: no scare stories, no jargon – just things you can take back and apply in governance, services, finance or IT.

    Who should attend?

    Essential for everyone involved in operations and with responsibility for cyber security and fraud:

    • Governance, risk, internal audit and assurance teams
    • IT, data protection and information governance leads
    • Finance and procurement leads
    • Repairs, asset management, DLO and operations managers
    • Housing management, lettings/allocations and temporary accommodation teams
    • Board members, executives and senior leaders who need confidence they’re asking the right questions and checking the right things.

    Why attend?

    Because most organisations don’t need a ‘big cyber programme’ to reduce risk quickly – they need the basics to work reliably:

    • Clear ownership of who can do what and why
    • Controls that match reality – especially where processes are fast-moving, manual or stretched
    • A culture where staff feel confident to pause, verify and report suspicious activity (including phishing and social engineering).

    This event will help you leave with a shared understanding across teams – and a shortlist of practical actions you can implement or test straight away.

  • Our speakers

    Alistair McIntosh, Chief Executive, HQN
    Alistair McIntosh is one of the social housing sector’s most respected and best known personalities. As founder and Chief Executive of HQN, he is regarded as one of the foremost advisers on governance and regulation.  His hands-on approach sees Alistair leading on all HQN’s mock inspection exercises and chairing/speaking at conferences and events.

    Career highlights include setting up and running the National Federation of ALMOs, leading the popular consultation on the regulatory standards for housing and developing an approach to VfM that won praise from the housing minister.

    A regular contributor to the housing press, Alistair’s columns are known for their humorous, pointed and painfully accurate assessment of the state of social housing.

    Ian Parker, Housing Finance Network Associate, HQN
    Ian Parker has spent 40 years in the public sector, including senior roles in local government and as finance director at four registered providers. He is now a consultant and HQN’s Lead Finance Associate, advising members of the Housing Finance Network and providing relevant governance, assurance and technical updates.

    Ian’s consultancy work includes developing HQN’s VfM metrics model, supporting organisations with the sector’s VfM agenda, carrying out 60+ mock in-depth assessments (IDAs) and developing HQN’s merger model.

    Ian brings a practical fraud and assurance lens to cyber risk – drawing on his experience delivering fraud awareness training, including how cyber-enabled fraud can exploit everyday housing processes such as procurement, supplier management, invoice approvals and payments. He focuses on the simple controls, checks and board-level questions that help stop incidents becoming losses.

    Ibraheem Khan, Leading Cybersecurity Consultant

    Ibraheem is a cybersecurity executive with over a decade of leadership experience across financial services, media and SMEs. He specialises in information security, AI governance and cloud/data privacy, with a strong track record of building enterprise-wide security programmes in complex, regulated environments.

    He is currently a consultant with Cyber Wheelhouse, advising SMEs on cyber resilience through tailored governance, risk and compliance support, alongside practical guidance on security operations, staff awareness and regulatory readiness.

    Ibraheem holds senior certifications including CISM, ISO/IEC 42001 AI Lead Auditor and ISO 27001 Lead Auditor. A regular public speaker, he has presented at international conferences across Europe, the Middle East and the UK and is frequently invited to engage with boards, regulators and industry groups including the FCA Cyber Coordination Group, FS-ISAC and the National Cyber Security Centre.

    Goher Mohammad, Head of Information Security, L&Q
    Goher Mohammad is Group Head of Information Security at L&Q, where he leads the organisation’s cyber and information security function, helping ensure security keeps pace with a modern, digitally enabled housing provider against current and future cyber landscape.

    He has 24+ years’ experience across technology and information security, spanning large, highly controlled environments as well as faster-moving organisations – with roles including early IT leadership at Omnicom Group and experience in global firms such as Citibank and Merrill Corporation, alongside work in more agile settings.

    Goher has written  and spoken on information security and cyber risk in social housing, including sharing practical learning from real incidents such as AI-enabled ‘vishing’/voice-cloning attempts and the importance of proactive prevention, strategy, preparedness, clear response plans, staff awareness and sector collaboration and sharing to reduce impact when attacks occur.
  • Programme

    10:30am Welcome and why this matters

    Alistair McIntosh, Chief Executive, HQN

     

    10:40am Cyber risks: How attacks start, why they work and what helps most

    Ibraheem Khan, Cybersecurity Consultant
    • A clear, accessible look at the current cyber threat landscape and what attackers are typically trying to achieve
    • Common ways organisations get caught out – and the recurring patterns seen across sectors
    • Practical, proportionate steps that help strengthen everyday security (including the basics that are often misunderstood).

    11:10am Fraud-proofing the basics: The checklist your organisation needs now

    Ian Parker, Housing Finance Network Associate, HQN
    • The new “failure to prevent fraud” landscape in plain English – what it means for housing organisations and why it changes the risk conversation at board level
    • Where fraud risks typically sit in day to day processes – and the practical controls that often get missed
    • A take-away delegate checklist to help you sense-check your current arrangements and prioritise preventative measures.

    11:50am Break

    12:00pm Cyber security in practice: Building resilience, readiness and a security-aware culture

    Goher Mohammad, Head of Information Security, L&Q
    • How L&Q approaches information security strategically – and the practical steps that make the biggest difference day to day
    • What threats are showing up most often right now and how organisations can strengthen detection, response and recovery
    • Developing a security-aware culture across the business – including simple ways to improve engagement and behaviour change.

    12:40pm Wrap-up and key takeaways

    Alistair McIntosh, Chief Executive, HQN

    1:00pm Close

  • Cancellations and substitutions

    If you are unable to attend an event or public training course, please let us know in writing (email is fine) at least 48 hours before. Please email [email protected]

    Otherwise, a cancellation fee of £60 plus VAT will be chargeable.

    If you are using a package place to attend and do not inform us within the agreed time frame, then a place will be taken to cover your non-attendance.

    Cancellations must be made in writing and will be acknowledged by HQN Limited.

  • Price and booking

    Bookings are closed for this event.

    If you experience any issues when submitting your booking, please email [email protected] with the name and date of the session along with the delegate name(s), email address(es) and job title(s) and we'll process the booking for you.

Dates



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