2025 Wyoming’s Cybersecurity Competition for Small Business Winners presented at Cyber Cheyenne. Left to right back row: Mary Keane of CyberWyoming representing Go Goshen, Timothy Abbott of Palo Alto Networks, Kimberly Brandon-Wintermote of Northwest Wyoming Board of REALTORS®, Nicole Novotny Smith of Wyoming REALTORS®. Front row, last year’s winner of the No IT Help category, Jennifer Clark of the Goat Ladies and Laura Baker of CyberWyoming.
Winners Announced For The 2025 Wyoming Cybersecurity Competition For Small Businesses
CyberWyoming announced the winners of the 2025 Wyoming Cybersecurity Competition for Small Businesses at the annual Cyber Cheyenne Conference at Laramie County Community College on October 3rd, highlighting a landmark year dominated by women leaders and 501(c)(6) nonprofit organizations.
Wyoming REALTORS®, led by Nicole Novotny Smith, earned First Place in the Contracted or Consistent IT Help Category. Northwest Wyoming Board of REALTORS®, led by Kimberly Brandon-Wintermote, received First Place in the No IT Help Category. An Honorable Mention was awarded to Go Goshen, an economic development agency in Torrington, Wyoming, represented by Moriah Harkins.
“Working with the CyberWyoming team was a delight! We are thankful that Wyoming organizations can lean on CyberWyoming for expertise and support with technology and cyber safety. We look forward to continued partnerships with CyberWyoming, and we are deeply honored to receive 1st Place in the Made Safe in Wyoming 2025 competition (Supported IT Division),” said Novotny Smith.
Nicole Novotny Smith, Wyoming REALTORS® Chief Executive Officer
The two winners participated as part of a Wyoming realtor board cohort focused on maintaining compliance with the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) cybersecurity requirements while also securing their operations to manage insurance risks.
The NAR cohort participants found the suggestions for insurance requirements to be designed for larger organizations, businesses with servers, IT staff, and at least 25 employees, while most boards like Wyoming REALTORS® and Northwest Wyoming Board of REALTORS® operate as micro businesses, often with one to three staff members.
Kimberly Brandon-Wintermote,
Northwest Wyoming Board of REALTORS® Chief Executive Officer
“We needed a plan that not only satisfied NAR’s requirements but was also realistic and sustainable for a one-staff office to maintain. Thanks to the guidance of Laura Baker and her team at CyberWyoming, along with the support of fellow association executives across the state, we now have a policy that is both practical and robust. This recognition affirms the importance of securing member data and business continuity while proving that even small organizations can lead the way in cybersecurity,” said Brandon-Wintermote.
Launched by CyberWyoming in 2018, the competition empowers micro businesses and nonprofits to strengthen cybersecurity through the Made Safe program. It has gained national and international recognition as the only competition of its kind.
“CyberWyoming’s Made Safe program helped these organizations translate complex cybersecurity requirements into practical, manageable steps for their small operations,” said Laura Baker, Executive Director of CyberWyoming and manager of the competition program. “We helped them ‘right-size’ cybersecurity policies, so they are both realistic for micro businesses and compliant with broader industry standards. Their success proves that small doesn’t mean vulnerable.”
With women at the helm of every winning organization, and 501(c)(6) associations dominating the competition, 2025 marks a historic milestone for the Wyoming Cybersecurity Competition for Small Businesses.
“Nicole and Moriah exemplify the creativity, persistence, and leadership needed to take on cybersecurity at the small-business level. Their work shows that cybersecurity isn’t just about technology, it’s about culture, awareness, and resilience. I’m proud to have walked alongside them in this journey,” said Mary Keane, Cybersecurity Business Counselor with CyberWyoming and mentor of Go Goshen and Wyoming REALTORS®.
The 2025 Competition was made possible by our members and sponsors: 307 Tech Pros, Capitol Communications, Casper College, Concordant, DigeTekS, EvnTec, Factory IT, First Education FCU, First Federal Bank & Trust, First National Bank of Gillette, Gannett Peak Technical Services, HUB International, ICC, IECA of Casper, Language I/O, the National Cybersecurity Society, PDS Manage, Secure the Village, Sightline Security, Sweetwater Technology Services, TEAM Networks, Manufacturing Works of Wyoming, Whitehat Rescue, Wyoming ISSA, Wyoming Realtors, and WyoSupport.
Additionally, at Cyber Cheyenne, CyberWyoming announced that the cybersecurity competition is now open to micro businesses nationwide. “We’ve got a great program that reduces cyber risks by 70%, so we designed a way to bring it to the rest of the country,” said Baker.
