It can be a challenge for small businesses to maintain a proper cybersecurity program, even though a single breach can be devastating. Limits to staffing, budgets and expertise can leave a company vulnerable to attack, risking loss of data, reputation, and customers. With 70% of cyberattacks now being focused on small companies, it is increasingly vital for every business to keep a cybersecurity plan in place, according to Small Business Trends.
To help build this expertise in small businesses, the non-profit Cyber Readiness Institute is looking to provide companies with a free set of tools and resources, from which companies can build their own cyber readiness plans and internal expertise.
Kiersten Todt, managing director of the Cyber Readiness Institute, speaking of the Institute’s mission to develop key cyber security skills, notes, “The focus of the program is to embed basic cyber policies and processes into every organization regardless of size, technical expertise, or sector.” Todt also speaks of the importance to secure small businesses, observing “The need for a program like this has been growing exponentially in recent years. Because of the interdependent nature of global business today, businesses of all sizes remain at a significant risk if even one of their partners becomes vulnerable to an attack.”
As to the future for the Institute, Todt says “In 2019, the Cyber Readiness Institute will be focused on distributing the Program to as many SMBs across the globe and across industry as possible — as well as measuring the impact of the Program on the cyber readiness of SMBs. The goal is to evaluate whether the Program is having an impact on the cybersecurity of SMBs, and ultimately, of global value chains.”
For those interested, more information is available at https://www.cyberreadinessinstitute.org/.
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