Memorandum  PERAC Memo #32: Free Cybersecurity Training

Date:	11/17/2025
Referenced Sources:	PERAC Website

PERAC Memo #32 2025

To All Retirement Boards:

TO:                  All Retirement Boards

FROM:            Bill Keefe, Executive Director

RE:                  Free Cybersecurity Training

DATE:             November 17, 2025

Your retirement board may or may not have received an email from the state’s Executive Office of Technology Services and Security (EOTSS), but in either case we are happy to inform you that free cybersecurity training is available again in 2026 for board administrators and staff.

The Cybersecurity Awareness Programis one of many services EOTSS makes available to retirement boards through its Office of Municipal and School Technology (OMST). There are two optional informational webinars on the Cybersecurity Awareness Program: tomorrow, November 18 at 10 a.m.; and Monday, December 15 at 2 p.m. Registration for each is on the Cybersecurity Awareness link, in addition to other program information.

Applications to the program will be reviewed on a rolling basis until all licenses have been awarded. EOTSS encourages applications to be filed as soon as possible.

This is the fourth year the Cybersecurity Awareness Program is available to retirement boards. Several retirement boards have participated in the program and found it beneficial without being overbearing. The program offers participants the opportunity to complete customized cybersecurity trainings which emphasize best practices, interactive modules, and simulated attacks. There are some new selections this year among the learning paths, but all include simulated phishing campaigns, scam of the week, and security hints and tips. We believe this emphasis on end-user training is well worth the time investment to ensure that staff is taking the necessary measures to protect member information and system data.

Each participating retirement board needs to designate a contact/local coordinator who will attend a training session and act as the point person for this program. This person does not need to be well versed in IT. Each participant must have an email address tied to the retirement board’s web domain and not a generic address such as Gmail or Yahoo. For board members whom this may preclude, there is a training available to all Massachusetts residents that you can participate in by emailing [e-mail]

The Office of Municipal and School Technology page lists other free or reduced-cost services available to boards, including a cybersecurity health check, and has staff contact information.

The Cybersecurity Awareness Program has been well received and many agencies are repeat customers as the materials change. Thanks to EOTSS Secretary Jason Snyder for making this program again available to retirement boards and to OMST Director Susan Noyes for her continued support. If you have any questions regarding the Cybersecurity Awareness Program, please email [e-mail] and note that this is a new email address for the program.