Every day in December, we’re taking a look back at some of our favorite content of 2025. For Day 16, TomBoyle​, Senior Customer Success Manager, shares a virtual crisis simulation featuring a manipulative adversary known as the “Puppet Master”...

The Puppet Master's Trick or Treat

I think our Halloween-themed Crisis Sim, The Puppet Master’s Trick or Treat, was the best thing we’ve done this year.

We’ve been running these seasonal Crisis Sim webinars for a while now, tweaking and adjusting the format as we go. This one really hit the nail on the head.

The attacker, a theatrical and manipulative antagonist named the Puppet Master, is designed to challenge the audience with ethical dilemmas. For this simulation, they brought us a game of trick or treat. 

The Puppet Master has appeared in several of these scenarios, but their origins and objectives are never clear. In the past, we’d assumed they were a disgruntled ex-employee, but their most recent outing demonstrates that they have far-reaching influence and the ability to disrupt at a national scale.

For this scenario, we were joined by some friends from British Telecom: Deb Armstrong, CNI Manager, and Tom Waine, Senior Manager for Security Incident & Problem Management, both brought their extensive skills, knowledge, and judgment to the panel.

Watch The Puppet Master’s Trick or Treat recording here and find out if we managed to survive the Puppet Master's latest attack!