PROTECT YOUR SMALL BUSINESS
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) along with the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), recently launched a national education campaign to help small business owners understand common cyber threats and how they can help protect their businesses. You can access all the educational materials at the FTC Small Business site. The new materials include fact sheets, videos and quizzes on these topics: Cybersecurity Basics; Understanding the NIST Cybersecurity Framework; Physical Security; Ransomware; Phishing; Business Email Imposters; Tech Support Scams; Vendor Security; Cyber Insurance (with thanks to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners); Email Authentication; Hiring a Web Host; and Secure Remote Access. The simple format delivers information in a way that will make it easy for business owners to talk about cybersecurity with their employees, vendors, and others involved in their business. Help the business owners you serve learn about cybersecurity and give them tools they can use to train their employees. Here are a few ideas:
- Link to FTC.gov/SmallBusiness from your website
- Urge business owners to read the fact sheets and to think how the information applies to their business
- Order copies the free publication and make them available at your events.
- Promote the cybersecurity videos and quizzes.
If you’d like to partner with the FTC to offer a free webinar for the small business owners in your state, please contact Rosario Méndez at (202) 326-3749; rmendez@ftc.gov or Lisa Schifferle at (202) 326-3377; lschifferle@ftc.gov. They can also facilitate speakers from the FTC to participate on your cybersecurity events.
