October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. WaTech's Office of Cybersecurity has several fun events under the theme “Smarter, Safer, Stronger” planned to help you stay safe online, and protect information entrusted to the state from cyber threats.
Activities will include an in-person escape room and a online quiz game. In addition, there will be weekly presentations by cybersecurity and privacy experts. State employees who attend presentations and participate in events will be entered into weekly drawings for gift cards. There also will be prizes for winners of the escape room and cyber quiz competitions.
Cybersecurity awareness presentations
Zero Trust: Trust Is Not a Control
Oct. 28, 2025: 1 - 2 p.m.
Ralph Johnson Chief Information Security Officer - WaTech
Zero Trust is a modern approach to cybersecurity that assumes no user, device, or system should be trusted by default. Instead, everything must be verified before access is granted. In this session, you’ll learn how Zero Trust strengthens protection of state systems, enables secure remote work, and supports our broader enterprise IT goals...read more
How to apply CISA guidance, services, tools, and more...
Oct. 29, 2025: 11 a.m. - Noon
Cindy Munoz, Cybersecurity Analyst - CISA
CISA puts out a lot of great cybersecurity advice - but sometimes it can be a lot. What's what and who's who? In this session, we will break down CISA's guidance, services, tools, and more into plain language and how to turn them into more actionable steps to help make the organization safer and more resilient...read more
Co-Pilot Use for Security Insights
Oct. 29, 2025: 1 - 2 p.m.
Alex Salazar, IT Security Architect - Snohomish County
Cybersecurity just got a co-pilot. Explore how automation and AI are teaming up to detect, respond, and defend faster than ever — freeing your team from routine tasks and amplifying human expertise. ...read more
Click here to view all presentations.
Cyberbytes
Cyberbytes: Cybersecurity Tips from Carlos De Leon
Cyberbytes will be posted weekly in the month of October. Watch more cyberbytes
Events!
Kahoot! Quiz games
WaTech’s Office of Cybersecurity will host a cybersecurity quiz competition on Microsoft Teams each week. Your host, Jessie Wachter, will be on hand to guide players through the quiz and answer questions at the end. A Security Engineer at WaTech's Office of Cybersecurity by day, wanna-be quizmaster by night, Jessie is excited to be hosting the Cybersecurity Awareness Month Kahoot! quizzes again this year.
Jessie said the game combines two things she really enjoys, cybersecurity and quizzes! Providing the knowledge to make good cybersecurity choices can help everyone, whether in the work environment or at home. “I really hope to see everyone at the live events,” Jessie said “If you can't make that, a link will be provided that allows access to the quiz from Wednesday afternoon to the end of day Friday."
- Date: Oct. 8, 15, 22, 29
- Time: Noon to 1 p.m. (Pacific)
- Meeting link (only for Kahoot! games)
2025 Cybersecurity Escape Room 2.0
The 2025 Cybersecurity Escape Room will take place at the 1500 Jefferson Building! The Cybersecurity Escape Room is a team experience that brings people together in a plot-based scenario that will have you solving puzzles and working together while learning about key cybersecurity awareness behaviors.
Your elite team has been invited! Should you accept this 45 minute challenge, you'll be escort to a secret location. Team costumes may receive bonus participation points. Look out for the Easter eggs and pitfalls on your quest. Never fear of losing your way because your intrepid guide is nearby but at a cost.
You and your team have a chance to win cool prizes and impress your friends!
- Sign Up Here
- Provide information about your state agency team. (must be 2-6 people)
- Important: Signups are on a first-come, first-serve basis. Please coordinate with your team members on three date and time options.
Questions? Please contact Rhonda Mendel at WaTech.