CyManII brings critical infrastructure cyber training to El Paso
The Cybersecurity Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CyManII) held a two-day critical infrastructure and cybersecurity training exercise in El Paso focused on strengthening operational technology (OT) cyber readiness for regional partners.
Recently held at the El Paso Regional Communications Center, the event brought together technical teams, emergency response leaders and critical infrastructure stakeholders to respond to simulated cyberattacks in real time.
Participants included the U.S. Department of War Transformation Decision Analyst Center (TDAC), Lower Valley Water District (LVWD), National Laboratory of the Rockies, Region 19 ESC, First Light Federal Credit Union, the City of El Paso, El Paso County, El Paso Water, El Paso Electric Company and El Paso County 911 District.
CyManII officials Ed McCormick, regional innovation officer; Joe Mallen, assistant director of experiential learning; and Vince Rendon, operational technology instructor, led the training sessions and cyber simulations.
“Cybersecurity threats don’t stop at big cities or federal agencies,” said McCormick. “They impact every community that depends on reliable power, clean water, emergency services, communications and other critical services. These training exercises give local leaders and technical teams the opportunity to work through realistic cyber incidents together before a real crisis happens.”
The exercises focused on improving incident response coordination, strengthening decision-making under pressure and enhancing collaboration between local, state and federal partners. Participants engaged in ransomware demonstrations, risk assessment discussions and hands-on cybersecurity scenarios designed to mirror real-world threats targeting critical infrastructure systems.
The El Paso training is part of CyManII’s ongoing nationwide effort to help communities across the U.S. strengthen cyber resilience and better protect essential services from increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.
“The most impactful and awarding takeaway during this critical infrastructure training was the team building,” said Jeff Cuen, IT manager at LVWD. “This was a great opportunity for our team to work together on a specific problem, even if they weren’t a subject matter expert. They got their hands dirty … so it was a valuable lesson for them and for me to see how they responded.”
Participants said the exercise stood apart from traditional trainings because of its hands-on approach and realistic scenarios, which helped teams identify strengths, uncover gaps and improve coordination during cyber incidents.
“We have done a lot of tabletop exercises, but this was a more realistic scenario,” said Jorge Garza, IT cybersecurity manager at El Paso County. “It gives you better insights of your skills gaps. We were able to test our skills, so we really appreciated the experience.”
Jason Lantrip, director of cybersecurity at First Light, said that when he first joined the credit union, the organization already had a cyber incident response plan in place. However, the plan focused primarily on the technical response to an attack, which meant the team wasn’t fully considering the broader operational and communication challenges that come with a real-world cyber incident.
“Part of a full incident response plan is working with our risk management team to have a more organizational response,” Lantrip said. “It’s a more complete response that looks at everything from the legal department to the marketing department to the executives. These exercises gave us a view into how the technical team needs to communicate and how the leadership side needs to be prepared to react.”
Cuen added that, from his perspective, the most important thing is ensuring his department continues to evolve and adapt by constantly seeking better strategies and tools to defend against the growing threat posed by cybercriminals targeting critical systems.
“The hackers are out there,” Cuen said. “ You have to know about the current tools and not allow them to use your vulnerabilities against you. The things you should always continue to do is keep growing and learning.”
