First Cyber Security Tooling & Managed Services Tender

Lot - 1: FRH Cyber Security Tooling & Managed Services for GWR & AWC AI-powered managed cybersecurity is essential to counter a threat landscape marked by short attack timelines and sophisticated automated attacks. To address this, the organisation will procure a single integrated 24/7 managed security service covering Email Security, Network Detection and Response (NDR), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), and Security Information and Event Management (SIEM). The solution uses AI-driven automation, machine learning, and a managed SOC model to deliver real-time detection, triage, containment, and recovery across the estate. Automated detection and response reduce alert fatigue, cut mean time to respond (MTTR) and eliminate workflow bottlenecks that inhibit manual or traditional SOC operations. AI-powered response enables machine-speed containment for threats detected anywhere across the network, endpoint, email, and cloud services, while ensuring seamless integration of new and existing tooling. *- Strategic Objectives Enhance Threat Detection and Response Capabilities: Use AI-powered analysis and automation across email, endpoints, networks, and cloud environments for real-time detection and disruption of evolving threats, including zero-day attacks and business email compromise. The service provides real-time, data-driven insights and analytics, ensuring high-fidelity detection and response across all monitored domains. Reduce Dwell Time: AI automation enables rapid correlation and response, reducing dwell time from days to minutes in managed environments by minimising manual analysis lags and increasing accuracy through automated playbooks for containment actions. Ensure Regulatory Compliance: Continuous monitoring, automated reporting, and audit-grade response documentation support compliance mandates (e.g., GDPR, NIS2) and provide ready evidence for regulatory investigations. Ensure alignment and certification to industry best practices CSO/IEC 42001 (Artificial Intelligence Management System), ISO/IEC 27001 (Information Security Management System), ISO 22301 (Business Continuity Management System (BCMS)), Cyber Essentials, and Cyber Essentials Plus. Enable Proactive Defence: The solution supports automated threat hunting and anomaly detection to intervene early in the attack lifecycle, rather than relying solely on alert-based or reactive workflows. Optimise Resource Allocation: Automated detection and response to significantly reduce time spent dealing with email-based threats, allowing staff to focus on higher-value work. *- Scope of Services The organisation seeks a 24/7 fully managed security service covering: AI-driven Email Security, integrating threat intelligence and auto-remediation (using technologies such as Mimecast and Microsoft Defender). AI-driven NDR with behaviour analytics, automated response, and cloud app coverage (including M365, leveraging DarkTrace). AI-driven EDR integrated with SIEM, delivering automated detection, triage, and containment. AI-driven SIEM with unified log collection, AI-powered correlation, and enrichment from endpoint, network, and email telemetry. Wide compatibility and integration with common enterprise IaaS, PaaS and SaaS providers. Automated response and proactive threat hunting are built into the service. AI tunes out false positives in real time. NDR, EDR, and Email Security are orchestrated via SIEM, providing a centralised view and seamless handoff between detection, investigation, and response. *- Key Benefits Value for Money: Competitive tendering for integrated AI-driven managed services enables benchmarking, cost optimisation, and elimination of margin losses from operational inefficiency. Strengthening Security Capability and Outcomes: The solution delivers 24/7 managed detection and response with proven incident investigation, escalation, and rapid containment. Automated triage addresses >90% of alerts, moving human analysts to exception management and threat hunting. Reducing Operational and Delivery Risk: Relying on automated incident response closes the talent gap, addresses analyst burnout, and places delivery risk with suppliers that maintain AI-enhanced SOC capabilities. SLA-driven performance and machine-speed automated actions are formally contracted. Improving Governance, Auditability, and Transparency: Automated, AI-driven audit trails ensure end-to-end traceability of every incident, action, and management decision, enabling regulatory reporting and internal audit compliance. Enabling Scalability and Future Flexibility: AI-driven architecture processes thousands more alerts per day without proportional increases in headcount, supporting scale as business needs and threat volumes evolve. Supporting Compliance and Regulatory Obligations: The managed SOC operates within recognised frameworks (e.g., ISO 27001, ISO 42001, ISO 22301, Cyber Essentials and UK NIS and GDPR) and supplies compliance reporting and rapid incident response e