FCC Talks Small-business Cybersecurity at Roundtable Event

The Federal Communications Commission is kicking off Small Business Week with a look at the importance of cybersecurity for smaller firms.

As part of its efforts, FCC launched an online portal featuring cyber resources and held a cybersecurity roundtable today in Washington, specifically geared toward small businesses.

The new portal contains information about connecting small businesses with broadband, the top 10 cybersecurity tips for small business and other small-business government resources

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski led the roundtable discussion, which also included input from private-sector executives and government IT and cyber experts.

“All of the tools and information we’ve presented can enable small business to grow and jobs to be created anywhere,”  Genachowski said, according to FedScoop. “It enables businesses to safely market their products in the next neighborhood, the next city, the next state or overseas.”

The issue of cybersecurity is important for all companies, but most especially small business.

It’s estimated that smaller firms lose billions to cyber attacks every year. According to FCC research, 74 percent of small and medium-size businesses reported being affected by cyber attacks in the past 12 months, with an average cost of about $188,000 per incident.

Michael Chertoff, former head of the Department of Homeland Security, who now runs his  own consulting firm the Chertoff Group, said often small businesses think cyber attacks are limited to more sophisticated companies, “but this issue really touches everyone,” he said, according to FedScoop.

“It’s important for companies to manage cyber risk, because its impossible to completely eliminate risk unless you get off the network and that’s not realistic in today’s business world,” he added.