The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will host a free, virtual national Cyber Summit on Oct. 26. The SBA Cyber Summit will help introduce American small businesses to tools, tips, and resources to “bolster” their cybersecurity infrastructure. It’ll also explore new trends and challenges that entrepreneurs are increasingly facing. This cybersecurity forum will be a […]
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will host a free, virtual national Cyber Summit on Oct. 26.
The SBA Cyber Summit will help introduce American small businesses to tools, tips, and resources to “bolster” their cybersecurity infrastructure. It’ll also explore new trends and challenges that entrepreneurs are increasingly facing.
This cybersecurity forum will be a first for the agency, SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, said in announcing it Sept. 22.
“America’s small businesses are pivoting to digital technologies and online strategies at historic rates to reach new customers and improve operational efficiencies, but that pivot has also exposed them to significant new threats from cyberattacks,” Guzman said in a release. “Our SBA team has mobilized to support them against these potentially disruptive threats with cybersecurity resources and trainings across our resource partner networks, as well as through our recently launched Small Business Digital Alliance. Launching the SBA’s first annual Cybersecurity Summit will help us build on that work and ensure America’s 33 million small businesses and innovative startups can pivot safely online and grow resilient businesses.”
Registration for the event is open to all and free. Those interested can sign up through this link: www.bit.ly/SBACyberSummit.
About the event
The inaugural SBA Cyber Summit will include various speakers, including Guzman, SBA Associate Administrator Mark Madrid, SBA resource partners, Small Business Development Centers, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the FBI, business chambers, state government partners, experts from the public/private sectors, major technology platforms, and “award-winning” business coaches, the SBA said.
“Comprised of digestible and compact segments,” attendees will have the opportunity to network and learn more about practical tips, problem-solving strategies, industry trends, threat avoidance, and small-business testimonials to help small-business owners defend themselves against cyberattacks, the SBA said.
Cyberattacks are a “growing threat” to small businesses and the U.S. economy. The SBA cites the FBI’s Internet Crime Report as indicating the cost of cybercrimes against the small-business community reached $2.4 billion in 2021.
Small businesses are “attractive targets” because they have information that cybercriminals want, and they “typically lack” the security infrastructure of larger businesses.
According to an SBA survey, 88 percent of small-business owners felt their company was vulnerable to a cyberattack. Yet many businesses cannot afford professional IT solutions, have limited time to devote to cybersecurity, or do not know where to begin, the SBA noted.
