(Shoshone, Wyoming) – The Shoshoni Senior Center, led by Director Rykki Neale, decided to enter the Wyoming Small Business Cybersecurity Contest just before the May registration deadline and created a structured format for data and systems management .
Despite high staff turnover since the pandemic, the Shoshone Senior Center remained open to patrons and complied with regulatory and reporting requirements for various funding sources. Aged centers have faced many challenges in addition to the inherent difficulty of continuing to serve small communities with little labor or volunteer base.
“I didn’t have as much time to focus on this competition as I would have liked, but I have made great progress in making the Senior Center a better place. I was able to learn more about how to update seniors for an increasingly digital future while working with people who are ill-equipped to respond to rapid changes in technology and cybersecurity concerns. Now we can move the center.”
With only four staff members, employee policies and procedures to manage and protect user information were key goals. Educating patrons about safe computer use, fraud education to avoid financial loss, and making seniors comfortable with technology are also Neale’s goals. The Shoshoni Senior Center distributed several iPads to eligible seniors purchased by the Wyoming Department of Health’s Senior Citizens Division. The purpose of the program is to reduce social isolation for the elderly and caregiving population and to increase access to telemedicine and telemedicine services in all Wyoming communities, and iPad customer service and technical support are hers. Processed by Teltex.
While working towards his competition goals, Neal found some scary holes. She discovered that the administrator password for her existing wireless router had not been changed from the default. Undaunted, she resolved the situation. She also switched to a more secure cloud storage her service, changed many passwords, consolidated her email address, and added her two-factor authentication to key accounts.
Neil also realized that the change in board members caused problems in maintaining the institution’s history. For example, in the event of an unexpected employee turnover, it may take months before access to key accounts is restored. As such, she enacted a process of digital inheritance via password management software so that directors inherited her password in the event of Neil’s incapacity or absence.
“At the time of the convention, as the only office employee, I wrote digital inheritance into employee policies to ensure the organization would recover from significant future turnover,” says Neale.
With a deadline to start in mid-May and complete the competition on August 15, Neil calls for the closure of the senior center, temporary loss of internet service and closure of the road to Casper due to the disaster. Didn’t expect a water boil order in town. A double murder, and while the governor’s visit was scheduled, the lone cook was out with COVID. Not only did she have a contest submission deadline, but she also underwent an on-site quality assurance review with the Wyoming Department of Health’s Aging Division, arranged to collect home-delivered meals from the Riverton Senior Center, and recruited new employees. Trained and found satiety. She made other arrangements for the governor’s visit.
“I don’t know who cursed me, but it works really well. Bad things stack up!” said Neil.
Still, despite the challenges, Neil won, and the Senior Center made the visit with Gov. We were able to do it. The center also achieved 75% of its security goal in competition. Patron education was the only outstanding goal, achieving 86% of recommendations in a record time frame of less than 3 months. The center also placed him second in the category without technical help.
The 2022 competition is funded by grants from Microsoft and the Department of Labor Services, and CyberWyoming’s 2022 members and sponsors (Capitol Communications Inc., Campbell County Health, Cheyenne State Bank, CPU (Computer Professionals Unlimited), DigeTekS LLC, EvnTec, Factory IT, First Federal Bank & Trust, First Interstate Bank, Gannett Peak Technical Services, HUB International, IECA, K2 Technologies, Manufacturing Works, PDS, Sweetwater Technology Services, and TEAM 2023 Wyoming Small Business For more information on the Cybersecurity Competition, please visit https://www.cyberwyoming.org/competition.
Developed by CyberWyoming in 2018, the competition encourages small businesses in Wyoming to meet cybersecurity best practices through a homegrown program called Made Safe in Wyoming™. As the only one of its kind, the competition has attracted national and international attention, and in February 2022 won the Gula Tech Foundation Award, which will be expanded in 2023. CyberWyoming recently announced this expansion. Cyber Security Business Counselor.
CyberWyoming Executive Director Laura Baker said:
According to Baker, the goal of the program’s expansion is to raise awareness in the business community by creating local cybersecurity business counselors who can assist with security planning and programs, and to encourage local connections with other businesses and organizations. to fill the holes.
Economic development agencies interested in expanding services through the Made Safe/Competition Program should contact Baker. [email protected] or 307.314.2188.
About Shoshone Senior Center: The Shoshone Senior Center was established to help seniors in our community live more dignified and meaningful lives by providing and coordinating educational, nutritional, health, social and charitable services. it was done. Their main goal is to provide services that enable seniors to live safely in the comfort of their own homes and communities for as long as possible. For more information, please visit https://www.shoshoniseniorcenter.com/.
