Cyber Training
for Municipalities
Tailored training for the unique challenges of municipalities
Protect your community
In the face of growing municipal cyberattacks, every stakeholder needs to understand their role in reducing the likelihood and impact of a successful cyber incident. No municipality is too big or small to be targeted, and the results can be devastating – compromise of sensitive citizen data, disruption of critical services, financial loss, reputational damage, and more.
The Catalyst can help — with interactive training sessions tailored for elected officials and leaders, IT professionals, and other municipal staff.
Interactive and experiential
Delivered by cybersecurity experts
Tailored to the unique circumstances of municipalities
Addresses leadership, technical and non-technical learners
Flexible Delivery – provided virtual or in-person
What we offer
Tabletop exercises (TTXs) are customized, discussion-based scenarios that closely simulate, from a non-technical lens, how a cybersecurity incident would unfold within your organization.
- Clarify and modify existing roles and responsibilities during a cybersecurity incident;
- Identify, test and validate existing organizational processes around incident reporting;
- Assess cross-departmental incident response and crisis communication planning;
- Educate executives and department leaders on their responsibilities during a cyberattack.
The Catalyst Cyber Range platform is an interactive, simulated representation of an organization’s networks, systems, tools, and applications, connected in a virtual environment. Workshop participants are able to react and respond to cyber events and scenarios inside the virtual environment.
- Immersive and ultra-realistic – Not a gamified experience
- Experiential – Provides hands-on skills training in a safe and realistic environment
- Customizable – Accurately reflects a local environment with common cybersecurity applications, tools and systems
- Flexible – Enables remote or in-person delivery to learners
For information on our MISA-Catalyst Cyber Range program, developed and delivered in partnership with Municipal Information Systems Association (MISA) Ontario, click here.
Catalyst workshops focus on technical or non-technical concepts for a variety of roles across an organization. Discussion-based skills and training sessions are delivered by an expert Catalyst facilitator, and are focused on planning, decision-making and action. Popular topics for municipalities include:
- Incident response planning workshops
- Cybersecurity for elected officials
- Municipal cyber risk management
- Third-party vendor management
For information on our training for elected officials and staff, developed and delivered in partnership with AMO (Association of Municipalities of Ontario), click here.
Cyberattacks exploit people’s behaviour and emotions. A cybersecurity awareness training program teaches stakeholders to recognize, avoid and report threats, reducing cyber risk for your organization.
Resilience & Risk: Cybersecurity Webinar Series for Canadian Municipalities
Join Senior Advisor, Cybersecurity Training and Education from Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst, Randy Purse, and CEO & Founder of TaleCraft, Tim McCreight, for a three-part webinar series designed to equip Canadian municipalities with the knowledge and strategies to build robust and resilient cybersecurity programs. Learn how to identify, prioritize, and manage the risks that matter most to your operations and community services.
Platform: Zoom (Hosted by the Catalyst)
Course Duration: 3 hours (Each webinar is 1 hour)
Speakers
Date: June 26, 2025, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM ET
Join us for an interactive 1-hour session—the first in a three-part series on municipal cybersecurity resilience—where we’ll explore how Canadian municipalities can clearly identify and understand the risks that truly threaten their operations and services.
This session breaks down cybersecurity risk in plain language that resonates with both leadership and the community, laying the foundation for stronger resilience. We’ll share real-world examples of how a clear grasp of risk has driven successful strategies—and the consequences when it hasn’t.
By the end of this webinar, you will:
- Define “cyber risk” in the context of municipal operations and services.
- Understand how a clear risk definition can guide cybersecurity priorities and resource allocation.
- Recognize common pitfalls in municipal risk assessment and how to avoid them.
- Learn practical steps to begin building a risk-aware culture in your organization.
Date: September 17, 2025, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM ET
In the second of our three-part series on municipal cybersecurity resilience—we’ll show Canadian municipalities how to apply a risk-based approach to strengthen their cybersecurity programs during a 1-hour interactive session.
Learn how to prioritize defenses against common threats like ransomware, manage supply chain risks, and make the most of limited budgets. We’ll share practical strategies for aligning security efforts with your most critical risks, helping you stay adaptable without overloading your team or resources.
By the end of this webinar, you will:
- Identify current cyber threats to Canadian municipalities (e.g., ransomware) and evaluate them through a risk-based lens.
- Understand the impact of supply chain and third-party risks on municipal cybersecurity and how to address them proactively.
- Learn how to prioritize security initiatives under budget constraints by focusing on high-risk areas.
- Discover how to realign your cybersecurity program around risk priorities to build greater resilience.
Date: November 19, 2025, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM ET
In the final installment of our three-part series on municipal cybersecurity resilience—we’ll explore how Canadian municipalities can build long-term resilience through continuous improvement.
During the 1-hour interactive session, learn how to test and validate your defenses, assess the maturity of your cybersecurity program, and implement a sustainable improvement process. We’ll introduce maturity assessment tools and Enterprise Security Risk Management (ESRM) principles, showing how municipalities have turned security gaps into strengths. You’ll leave with a clear plan to translate assessment results into meaningful, ongoing action.
By the end of this session, you will:
- Learn practical methods to test and validate your cybersecurity defenses (e.g., through tabletop exercises and simulated incidents).
- Understand how to assess your security program’s maturity using frameworks and ESRM principles to identify gaps and strengths.
- Discover how to establish a continuous improvement process that addresses weaknesses and adapts to new threats over time.
- Gain strategies for maintaining long-term resilience by regularly updating and refining your cybersecurity program.
Randy Purse CD, PhD, CTDP
Senior Advisor, Cybersecurity Training and Education
Tim McCreight
CEO and Founder, TaleCraft Security
Partnerships
Municipal Information System Association
(MISA Ontario)
The Catalyst has partnered with MISA Ontario to bring technical Cyber Range training tailored for municipal IT professionals. The MISA-Cyber Range program is open to anyone across Canada with an interest in Municipal Cybersecurity. For more information on our MISA-Catalyst Cyber Range program click here.
Association of Municipalities of Ontario
(AMO)
The Catalyst has partnered with AMO to provide training for elected officials and municipal staff.
What our clients have to say
“The MISA-Catalyst Cyber Security Essentials workshops offer a great hands-on opportunity to safely use the same tools and techniques as threat actors to perform reconnaissance and compromise systems. You can take your learnings back to your workplace and consider how you will detect and defend against these types of attacks.”
“Our participation in the Security Incident Response Planning (SIRP) workshops was an enriching and transformative experience, thanks to the skillful facilitation of [the Catalyst’s] Randy Purse. The well-structured and engaging sessions provided us with invaluable insights and practical skills. Randy’s dynamic teaching style made the complex subject accessible all the while fostering collaboration and teamwork among participants. We highly recommend these workshops to anyone seeking to elevate their information security posture in a supportive, team-oriented, and engaging environment.”
“Overall, the workshops were well received and helped distinguish roles and responsibilities. SMT was fully engaged and the session made everyone feel part of the same team. Bravo!”
“This was one of the best emergency training scenarios I have participated in. Thank you!”
“It was cool seeing how the server and attacker interacted. The Splunk aspect was something I am familiar with, but understanding how it all works and the login process to the different environments was as seamless as I’ve seen. Thanks!”
Not sure where to begin? Start here
Join us as we work to strengthen the cybersecurity of municipalities across Canada. Start by downloading our free Cybersecurity Incident Response Plan checklist. Connect with our team to learn more about customized training options for municipal organizations.
