Building better lives for young people across the region
1625 Independent People is a charity dedicated to improving outcomes for young people through housing, education, and support services. With around 175 employees, they’re a significant and influential presence in youth services regionally and nationally.
The Challenge
An organisation like 1625 Independent People needs IT infrastructure and cyber resilience that can keep up the pace. But growth and change also creates exposure, and that risk became real when one of their director accounts was compromised.
At the same time, an upcoming office relocation and a wave of new vulnerabilities affecting widely used security hardware meant 1625 needed a partner who could respond fast, think ahead, and keep their team focused on their mission.
Compromised director account
One of 1625’s director level accounts was breached, giving an attacker direct access to sensitive systems and exposing the organisation to a real, active cyber threat.
No advanced threat detection in place
Beyond the breach, 1625 had no system in place to catch similar threats early. Without ongoing detection, future incidents could just as easily have gone unnoticed until real damage was done.
Upcoming office relocation
1625 needed their entire IT infrastructure relocated and brought back online with minimal disruption to day to day operations.
Emerging vulnerabilities in security hardware
A wave of newly discovered vulnerabilities affecting widely used SSL VPN hardware put remote access at risk across the organisation, a threat that required fast, decisive action before it could be exploited.
The Solution
Immediate response, then resilience built to last
When the Director account breach happened, Nebula moved immediately, remediating the threat and securing the account before further damage could be done. Recognising that one breach is rarely an isolated event, Nebula introduced Huntress ITDR (Identity Threat Detection and Response) to give 1625 ongoing, proactive protection against exactly this kind of threat.
That same proactive approach carried through to the office relocation and the SonicWall vulnerability response — in both cases, Nebula planned ahead, acted fast, and kept disruption to an absolute minimum.
Immediate breach remediation
The moment the director account compromise was identified, Nebula moved to remediate the threat and secure the account, stopping the immediate danger before it could escalate further.
ITDR deployed across the organisation
Since deployment, ITDR has identified 9 seprate cyber incidents, every one of which Nebula has remediated and secured before it could cause harm.
A fully managed office relocation
Ahead of 1625’s move to their new office, Nebula powered down and safely relocated every piece of equipment, reinstalled and brought systems back online at the new site, and reconfigured firewalls so staff had seamless VPN access from day one.
Proactive vulnerability response
When a new vulnerability affecting SSL VPNs was identified across the industry, Nebula flagged the risk to 1625 before it could be exploited, built an action plan, and remediated the issue in under a day and keeping downtime to an absolute minimum.
The Results
Since partnering with Nebula, 1625 have moved from reacting to threats to staying ahead of them. What began as an emergency response to a single breach has grown into a proactive layer of protection that now runs quietly in the background, catching risks before they become incidents, and giving leadership the confidence that their systems are genuinely secure.
BUSINESS BENEFITS
- Nine cyber threats identified and neutralised before any could cause harm or distruption
- A director level breach resolved immediately, with no lasting damage to systems or reputation
- A full office relocation completed with zero loss of access or downtime for staff
- A critical SSL VPN vulnerability closed organisation wide in under a day
- Leadership now has confidence that threats are being caught, not just cleaned up after
LOOKING AHEAD
- Ongoing moinitoring through Huntress ITDR, catching new threats as they emerge
- Continued vulnerability management as new risks are identified across the industry
- Support for 1625’s wider digital transformation as their infrastructure grows
- A proactive partner on hand as the organisation scales toward its national ambitions
- Regular reviews to keep cyber resilience aligned with 1625’s needs
