Cyber games
As Werner Electric Supply looked to take its annual customer cybersecurity conference to the next level for 2024, it decided to add some gamification to the mix. For the first time, the on-site event in Appleton kicked off with “cyber games.”
More than 70 gathered at Werner’s headquarters for the conference Oct. 10; about one-third of conference participants came early to play “capture the flag.”
“We came up with a number of scenarios that our customers may come across at some point in time,” says Justin Wildesen, Werner’s connected services product manager, who says the games were a great way to walk through those different scenarios, since cyberattacks continue to be a question of when, not if, for companies of all types and sizes.
“The whole idea is to gauge the skill sets out there of individuals to say, what do we need from our business to provide training to our customers,” Wildesen says. “If you don’t have that plan, if you haven’t rehearsed or practiced a plan, you’re not going to know what to do. You click the wrong thing, you can actually cause more damage.”
First-time conference attendee James Malueg, an automation engineer at Green Bay Packaging, says the cyber games were well worth his time. He says he plans to participate in tabletop simulations with his colleagues after attending the conference.
“It’s sitting down, running through our plans and seeing how they operate versus just ‘yep, we have a plan in place; it’ll be fine,’” Malueg says. “We actually need to execute on it and make sure [the plan] is actually going to do what you think it’s going to do.”
Wildesen says he expects Werner to host cyber games again at next year’s event, plus create ongoing educational resources that will allow customers to go through a full curriculum of cybersecurity training and create some muscle memory around responding to cybersecurity crises.
“[October] is cybersecurity month,” he says, “but this can’t just be a one month a year thing.”
— Kate Bruns
The jolliest thing
A New North-made product has claimed victory in Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce’s “Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin” competition for the fourth-straight year, as Random Lake-made Jolly Good Soda won this year’s “Manufacturing Madness” online vote from an original pool of 130 nominees. “It’s an honor to be selected as the Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin,” said Zach Malin of Krier Foods, which manufactures Jolly Good. “The employees who help produce Jolly Good every day are extremely proud of the company’s family heritage, Wisconsin ties, and being able to put a smile on our friends, families and neighbors.”
Powerhouse on wheels
Lakeshore College unveiled its new mobile manufacturing lab Oct. 1. The state-of-the-art, self-contained training space is available to any organization interested in providing or demonstrating hands-on manufacturing-focused training, with Lakeshore providing the instructors and delivering the mobile lab to the desired location. The lab was developed using a Wisconsin Workforce Innovation Grant to make manufacturing education more accessible to the broader community, says Lakeshore College President Paul Carlsen. Individuals trained in the lab can become certified in 15 industry-relevant skills; learn more and book your visit at gotoltc.edu/mobile-lab.
High energy
Marco Gonzalez, corporate energy manager at Waupaca Foundry, has been selected as the Energy Manager of the Year for the Midwest by the Association of Energy Engineers. The award was presented at the association’s regional awards in September. “Foundries are energy-intensive operations. We are responsible to our team members and customers to achieve our sustainability goals,” said Waupaca Foundry President, COO and CEO Mike Nikolai. “With Marco’s leadership we have reduced our energy requirements 22% since 2009.”
