Breda, IA (September 19, 2019) – Western Iowa Networks (WIN) will be hosting their first ever Cybersecurity Conference on Tuesday, October 8th 2019at the Carrollton Centre in Carroll, Iowa. The conference will begin with registration from 9-9:30am with the conference beginning at 9:40am and ending at 3pm. There is no cost for the conference and lunch and snacks will be provided. Business owners and IT professionals can register for free at registration at westianet.com.

The focus of the conference is to educate small business owners as well as IT professionals on cybersecurity and the harm that hackers are putting on small businesses, especially in rural areas. The conference will not only focus on how to mitigate the risks of a cyber attack but also how to properly recover from an attack as well. Wes Treadway, WIN Marketing Manager, said “The statistics of small businesses being attacked with ransomware, to me, was alarming. I think many small business owners, especially in rural areas, think that they are safe because of where they are located but in reality, those are the types of businesses hackers are targeting these days. An attack such as this can be devastating to a small business, so our aim is to help educate these folks so they can make sure they are protecting their information, as well as their customer’s information.”

The day will begin with opening remarks from WIN CEO Jeff Roiland. That will be followed by a presentation from Brandon Knutson from Vantage Point Solutions. Brandon is a Data Network Specialist and will talk about the new and unique ways hackers are stealing data. Chris Danielson, Vice President/Risk Advisor from Unitel Insurance will present on the insurance aspects of a cybersecurity breach. That will be followed by a free lunch.

Once we return from lunch WIN Director of Operations, Chris Neiland will lead a panel discussion with Troy Cook, COO of Midwest Data Center, Kevin Rihner, CIO from Availa Bank and Michael Hindman, VP & CIO of Birkshire Hathaway Energy. The day will then end up with Kenneth Schmutz, Supervisory Special Agent with the FBI. Kenneth will discuss current cases that are being worked by the FBI’s Cyber Task Force as well as ways businesses and individuals can better protect themselves.

The conference will be held in partnership with Midwest Data of Iowa, which is owned by five member companies including WIN, Midwest Data Center, Farmer’s Telephone Company, Griswold Communications and Farmers Mutual Telephone Company.