Cyberpools
Protection for pools against today's cyber threats...and tomorrow's
We provide insurance pools and their members with tools to stop threat actors and prepare for a robust response.
About Us
Enhancing security and ensuring affordable access to insurance markets.
Cyberpools was created by Wes Gates, as an offshoot of Gates Consulting. He is an IT security veteran with two decades of experience working with the Arizona School Risk Retention Trust, which insures school districts across Arizona. From this work, he expanded to other public entity members—particularly schools.
Why schools? Education is now the most targeted sector for cyber attacks. Hackers understand that the volume of sensitive personal information and the number of groups with access to school networks—students, the public, parents, staff, contractors, governing boards, and regulators—make schools an unusually attractive target with numerous potential points of entry.
"The cyber services provided by Gates Consulting (dba Cyberpools) have helped our members feel more confident in their cyber posture and given them and their governing boards comfort in an ever challenging and changing cyber world. The Cyberpools team has been responsive to our member's needs, including implementing the toolkit services to members, consulting on a variety of topics, and presenting to members."
Recently, Cyberpools has partnered with Risk Program Administrators (RPA), a division of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. The partnership connects our cybersecurity team with entities that are struggling with security, with the cyber liability insurance market, or both.
Our experts have seen firsthand the difficulties of securing reasonably priced cyber coverage in the current security climate. Not only do schools and other public entities need to invest in cybersecurity measures, they must also be able to show insurance carriers that they are well protected.
To help schools and their insurance pools meet these challenges, Cyberpools created its core product, the cybersecurity toolkit. The toolkit can easily be rolled out to pool members to strengthen their cybersecurity posture and align with what insurance carriers are looking for.
Our Processes and Work Products are:
Simple
We design our solutions to be easily understood and implemented.
Clear
Our communication and documentation leaves no room for misunderstanding.
Manageable
We focus on solutions that can be effectively maintained with existing resources.
Actionable
Our recommendations lead directly to tangible improvements in security posture.
Impactful
Our solutions make a measurable difference in your security and insurance outcomes.
Our Services
A complete list of services we offer to all of our clients.
| Service | What it does |
|---|---|
| Vulnerability scans | External scan of networks for vulnerabilities, prioritized report of any vulnerabilities identified during scan, and remediation guidance to safeguard against exploitation of known vulnerabilities |
| Risk assessments | High-level overview of IT infrastructure to determine cyber posture, identify gaps in best practices, and provide remediation guidance |
| Phishing and Training Campaigns | Phishing emails sent to member staff to test and raise awareness, report of campaign outcomes, and remediation guidance to safeguard against predatory phishing |
| Incident Response Planning | Guidance creating a written incident response plan to help streamline response during an actual event |
| IT Policy Templates | Access to downloadable, customizable policies and assistance customizing selected policies to members' specific systems and resources |
| MFA and EDR Group Purchasing | Bulk purchasing to make multi-factor authentication (MFA) and endpoint detection and response (EDR) resources more affordable for members |
| vCISO Consulting | On-demand access to a virtual chief information security officer (vCISO) for cybersecurity guidance on topics such as network architecture, access control, encryption, etc. |
| Tabletop Exercises | Scenario exercises designed to guide you through a possible "real-life" incident in preparation for an actual event |
| Claims Consulting | Post-claim assistance with remediation, plus management of vendors and/or third-party claims adjusters |
| Education | A library of webinars, presentations, and white papers to help educate your staff, members, and clients. |
Our Team
Meet the experts behind Cyberpools.
Wes Gates
Founder & Principal
Wes Gates is the principal of Gates Consulting, which has been providing IT services to clients for 21 years. His firm contracted with the Arizona School Risk Retention Trust, Inc. (the Trust) in 2013 to provide cybersecurity services to school districts.
Wes has over 35 years of IT experience, with 21 of those years at the Trust. He has worked in various roles, including chief information officer, developer, chief information security officer (CISO), and network engineer.
Frank Bejar
vCISO Consultant
As our lead consultant, Frank possesses over a decade of invaluable experience and has been instrumental in guiding organizations to successful project outcomes. Frank boasts a comprehensive skill set, covering Project Management, System Administration, Identity and Access Management, and more.
Certifications:
- Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
- Microsoft Certified: Security, Compliance, and Identity
- Juniper Networks Certified Professional, Security (JNCIA-SEC)
- CompTIA Security+ Certification
- CompTIA Network+ Certification
- CompTIA Project+ Certification
Jack Tiffany
Cybersecurity Analyst
Jack has a Bachelor of Science in computer science (cybersecurity) from Arizona State University. He works as a cybersecurity analyst, providing phishing and vulnerability scans for school districts.
Educational Focus:
- Computer Systems Security
- Computer Network Security
- Computer and Network Forensics
Naweed Nabi
Cybersecurity Analyst | Account Manager
Naweed has had experience in cyber security and awareness training for a large franchise company in Phoenix. He is a full stack developer, and he has had experience in developing various different web applications for companies throughout his career. He specialized in secure development techniques and testing.
Alex Robles
Cybersecurity Analyst | Account Manager
Alex is an experienced IT professional with diverse experience. He has been a network administrator playing key roles in projects such as multi-factor authentication implementation, network access control, backup solutions, and more.
Certifications:
- CompTIA A+ Certification
- CompTIA Network+ Certification
- CompTIA Security+ Certification
Contact Us
To have one of our team members contact you, please fill out the form below.
Accessibility Statement
Cyberpools is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for people with disabilities. We are continually improving the user experience for everyone and applying the relevant accessibility standards.
This website aims to comply with level AA of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1). These guidelines explain how to make web content more accessible for people with disabilities.
If you encounter any accessibility barriers on our website, please contact us at accessibility@cyberpools.com.