Meet the former 23-year-old former NATO worker whose cyber security firm has been keeping businesses safe during the pandemic

Michael Lamb, Director of Vanguard Cyber Security. Picture by FRANK REID

Vanguard Security, based in Jarrow, was launched in May 2020 to offer protection to businesses against online threats and in its first year has already worked with the likes of Northumbria Police and The Department of Health and Social Care.

The business was set up by Michael Lamb, 23, from South Shields, after noticing a lack of cyber security business in the North East

Michael spent six months working for NATO in Belgium and after returning to the UK, decided it was the right time to launch his own business.

He said: “Running my own business is something I’ve always thought about. I always wanted to have a crack at it but the opportunity never presented itself.

"After getting back from Belgium I looked around for jobs and thought there was nothing like Vanguard in the North East, so I gave it a go knowing if it doesn’t work at least I’ve tried.

"Thankfully the first year has been really good. There’s been a lot of challenges but we’ve worked with some big organisations and learned a lot. A lot of malicious people have tried to take advantage with various scams during the pandemic which has just made us busier.”

Vanguard security offers a number of online services to businesses, including helping them understand online attacks, why they’ve happened, what data has been taken and helping prevent them.

The business is one of the first of its kind in the North East and Michael wants to work to ensure the cyber security industry gets some more recognition in the coming years.

He added: “I think businesses like this are instrumental and will only become more important in the coming years. Personally I don’t think as an industry we are doing enough right now to make ourselves known and share what we do.

In the next few months Vanguard Security will also be hoping to recruit some more permanent staff as they look to grow the business in the future.

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