Cyber insurance isn't a safety net you buy once and forget (or...it really shouldn't be). Rather, it's a living part of your security posture. Yet, most businesses don't realize how little their policy actually covers until after a breach has already occurred.

In this episode, Andy and Brandi sit down with Travis Kroger, Cyber Insurance Practice Lead at UKON, to pull back the curtain on what cyber coverage really means, how to read between the lines of a policy, and why the affordable market we're in right now won't last. Travis brings a rare "no-nonsense" perspective that bridges the tech and insurance worlds, making this a conversation IT leaders and business decision-makers alike will want to hear.

0:00 - Welcome & introducing Travis Kroger
3:03 - Tell me something good
10:02 - Why cyber insurance may be priced lower than it should be
14:12 - Why insurance and IT security should be one strategy
16:12 - The biggest coverage gaps IT leaders don't know about
22:12 - The "hidden menu" of cyber insurance
27:36 - How to spot a strong policy vs. a weak one
35:48 - What to do in the first minutes of a cyber incident
39:06 - Travis's role as a wholesale broker

🗨️ Mentioned in this episode:

→ MFA — multi-factor authentication
→ WTF — wire transfer fraud, one of the most common cyber insurance claims
→ DFIR — Digital Forensics and Incident Response
→ Tech E&O — Technology Errors & Omissions insurance
→ Surplus lines market — where most cyber policies are written, giving carriers more flexibility than the state-admitted market

*A note on stats: Travis referenced some industry comparisons from memory during our conversation (fire frequency, cyberattack frequency); treat those as illustrative rather than precise figures. The core point he's making, that cyber risk is more frequent than most businesses assume, holds regardless of the exact numbers.

Connect with Travis: LinkedIn — www.linkedin.com/in/traviskroger | Email: travis@ukon.com

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Connect with us: 🌐 highpointnetworks.com 📱 LinkedIn, Instagram & Facebook: @highpointnetworks

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New episodes every other Wednesday.

Connect with us: 🌐 highpointnetworks.com 📱 LinkedIn, Instagram & Facebook: @highpointnetworks

Subscribe — Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube | And wherever you listen.

Get to the Point is produced by High Point Networks for informational purposes only. Guests include High Point Networks professionals as well as subject matter experts from across the industry, each speaking from their own experience and expertise. Content shared is intended as general information and should be evaluated within the context of your specific organization and circumstances. Views expressed by outside guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of High Point Networks or its affiliates. High Point Networks assumes no liability for decisions or actions taken based on content discussed in this podcast.

Technology and healthcare collide in this episode as Andy and Brandi welcome their first-ever two-guest lineup: Kevin DeWald, Executive Director of South Dakota Health Link, and Secretary Melissa Magstadt. Together, they unpack how South Dakota built one of the most connected rural health information networks in the country, and how new federal funding is helping close longstanding technology gaps in rural and frontier healthcare.

Kevin DeWald has worked for South Dakota's state public health agency for 23 years and has led state, regional, and national health IT and health information exchange efforts for 18 years. He currently serves as Executive Director of South Dakota Health Link, a multi-state network connecting 69 hospitals and more than 450 primary care clinics across South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, and North Dakota.

Secretary Melissa Magstadt has been involved in South Dakota healthcare for over three decades. She is an advanced practice registered nurse and co-owner of Quick Care South Dakota, and previously served in the South Dakota House of Representatives from 2011 to 2014. She holds a master's in science from South Dakota State University with a focus on family nurse practitioning, an MBA from Mount Marty University, and completed her fellowship at the University of Arizona's Center for Integrated Medicine.

0:00 - Welcome & meeting our first two-guest lineup
1:42 - Meet Kevin DeWald & Secretary Melissa Magstadt
5:13 - Tell me something good
6:10 - The box of papers that sparked South Dakota Health Link
9:59 - What South Dakota Health Link actually does
18:26 - How new federal funding for rural healthcare works
30:19 - Inside South Dakota's technology & data initiative
33:42 - AI already at work in South Dakota healthcare
37:54 - A million clinical alerts and counting

🗨️ Mentioned in this episode:

→ EMR — electronic medical record
→ HIE — health information exchange, a system that lets healthcare providers securely share patient data
→ South Dakota Health Link — the multi-state health information network Kevin leads, https://sdhealthlink.org/
→ https://doh.sd.gov — South Dakota Department of Health's rural health funding information page

Connect with Melissa: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melissa-magstadt-8749b59 | melissa@sd.gov | https://doh.sd.gov/contacts/staff-directory/

Connect with Kevin: https://sdhealthlink.org/team_mf/kevin-dewald/ | https://doh.sd.gov/contacts/staff-directory/

New episodes every other Wednesday.

Connect with us: 🌐 highpointnetworks.com 📱 LinkedIn, Instagram & Facebook: @highpointnetworks

Subscribe — Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube | And wherever you listen.

Get to the Point is produced by High Point Networks for informational purposes only. Guests include High Point Networks professionals as well as subject matter experts from across the industry, each speaking from their own experience and expertise. Content shared is intended as general information and should be evaluated within the context of your specific organization and circumstances. Views expressed by outside guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of High Point Networks or its affiliates. High Point Networks assumes no liability for decisions or actions taken based on content discussed in this podcast.

Most organizations are already licensed for more than they're using — and AI is a big part of that. In this episode, Solutions Architect Chris Watson walks through what's already baked into your Microsoft environment, why a thoughtful rollout matters more than a fast one, and how teams are actually using Copilot day-to-day to work smarter.

Chris Watson is a Solutions Architect at High Point Networks with over 13 years of industry experience. He holds Microsoft Certified Cloud Solutions Provider and Enterprise Mobility and Security certifications, specializing in Microsoft 365, Azure, and cloud and on-premise architecture.

0:00 - Introduction & welcome

2:15 - AI in Microsoft: it's not as new as you think

5:40 - What's already in your Microsoft license

9:15 - Start here: AI compliance policy and readiness assessment

13:00 - Rolling out Copilot: proof of concept to full deployment

20:30 - Real-world use cases (Teams, email, Word, PowerPoint)

28:00 - What's next: agents, DLP, and connecting your data

31:30 - Closing thoughts & listener takeaways

🗨️ Mentioned in this episode: Microsoft Copilot | Microsoft 365 | Microsoft Teams | SharePoint | Copilot Chat (free tier) | AI readiness assessment | AI compliance policy | Data Loss Prevention (DLP) | Copilot agents

Connect with Chris: www.linkedin.com/in/chris-watson-b06b35126 | chris.watson@highpointnetworks.com

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New episodes every other Wednesday.

Connect with us: 🌐 highpointnetworks.com 📱 LinkedIn, Instagram & Facebook: @highpointnetworks

Subscribe — Spotify | Apple Podcasts | YouTube | And wherever you listen.

Get to the Point is produced by High Point Networks for informational purposes only. Guests include High Point Networks professionals as well as subject matter experts from across the industry, each speaking from their own experience and expertise. Content shared is intended as general information and should be evaluated within the context of your specific organization and circumstances. Views expressed by outside guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of High Point Networks or its affiliates. High Point Networks assumes no liability for decisions or actions taken based on content discussed in this podcast.