One-Person Office, Big Win: Northwest Wyoming Realtors Take Top Cybersecurity Prize

The original story by Kimberly Brandon-Wintermote  for Powell Tribune.

The Northwest Wyoming Board of REALTORS® just proved you don’t need an IT department to lock things down. At the Cyber Cheyenne conference on Oct. 3, the regional board serving Park, Big Horn and Washakie counties nabbed first place in the “No IT Help” category of Wyoming’s 2025 Cybersecurity Competition for Small Businesses.

Here’s why that’s a flex: NWBOR is the definition of a microbusiness — one employee, one computer, no server, no in-house tech, and everything living in cloud portals like Google, Microsoft, and QuickBooks. Over seven months in CyberWyoming’s “Made Safe in Wyoming” on-the-job training program, the board cut its cyber risk by 80%, dropping from a 7.39% risk score to just 1.47%.

CEO Kimberly Brandon-Wintermote says she started the year trying to write a Fortune-500-style cybersecurity plan after national guidance from the National Association of REALTORS® sent boards scrambling.

“Thankfully, CyberWyoming and our statewide cohort helped turn that panic into a plan that actually works — something practical, affordable, and real,” she said.

The real estate cohort included all of Wyoming’s local boards from January through August, an initiative launched by Wyoming REALTORS®. Along the way, Brandon-Wintermote set clear security goals, ran a self-assessment, closed gaps, wrote NWBOR’s cybersecurity policies, and built an incident-response playbook tailored to a one-person shop.

“Kimberly was an absolute superstar,” said Laura Baker, CyberWyoming’s executive director and lead mentor for the program. “She finished in record time, did her own research, never missed an assignment — and quickly became a mentor to other boards.”

For Brandon-Wintermote, the award is less about trophies and more about trust.

“We needed a plan that meets NAR requirements and is realistic to maintain,” she said. “This recognition shows small organizations can lead on cybersecurity while protecting member data and business continuity.”

Baker summed it up:

“I’m so proud of NWBOR. Kimberly showed real leadership for her board and the entire cohort. I can’t wait to see where she takes their security next.”

Thinking about tightening your own defenses? Details on the 2025 Wyoming Cybersecurity Competition for Small Businesses — and registration for the 2026 edition — are at cyberwyoming.org/competition.