Free SEN Regional Cyber Security Training
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​The Statewide Education Network (SEN) has taken up an initiative to help New Mexico schools and other public institutions protect themselves from cyber-attacks. The SEN is holding tabletop exercises across the state with school officials and other entities to teach them how to detect and respond to potential attacks.

Through the SEN technical team, OBAE has been working directly with education organizations, in partnership with the New Mexico Public School Insurance Authority, Poms & Associates, the NM Office of Cybersecurity (OCS), the NM Public Education Department (PED), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the NM Fusion Center, to ensure school networks are resilient and protected from attacks and disruptions. Poms, a cybersecurity insurer, played a leading role in coordinating these important sessions. School cybersecurity tabletop exercise in Las Cruces During the tabletop sessions in Roswell, Las Cruces, Albuquerque, Las Vegas and Farmington, cross-functional leadership teams, including heads of schools, IT directors, finance staff, and other essential decision-makers, alongside IT and security staff worked through realistic cyber incident scenarios designed to strengthen response planning and decision-making. Nearly 150 representatives from districts, charter schools, colleges and universities representing approximately 90 organizations from across New Mexico are taking part in the exercises.

The SEN’s Jazmina Flores has been assisting districts and charter schools with the development of individualized Incident Response Plans (IRP). In addition, Merike Kaeo, an OBAE/SEN cybersecurity expert, has been working with Flores to provide technical expertise for the IRPs. Kaeo also prepared the specialized materials and scenarios being practiced during the tabletop exercises. New Mexico schools, like many public institutions across the country, remain targets for cyberattacks, and the SEN is already or will soon become a part of the critical infrastructure connecting many of these institutions, and can only be more secure if the school networks it serves are better prepared as well.

“At a time when education technical resources are stretched thinner than ever and every minute of instruction is precious, helping schools be better prepared to prevent, detect, respond and recover from ever mounting cyber threats is of outmost importance,” said Ovidiu Viorica, SEN Broadband and Technology Manager. Each meeting had a representative from the Office of Cybersecurity to help address concerns regarding computer system protections. You can learn more about the SEN in the SEN quarterly newsletter.

SEN Cybersecurity Workshop Schedule Winter 2026:
Each session scheduled 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

• Southeast Region: February 17 – Roswell
• Southwest Region: February 18 – Las Cruces
• Central Region: February 19 – Albuquerque
• Northeast Region: February 25 – Las Vegas
• Northwest Region: February 26 – Farmington
  
  

Free Regional Cybersecurity Training in Las Cruces February 2026.

Contact

Ovidiu Viorica
Broadband Program Manager, Statewide Education Network
505-270-1355
[email protected]
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