Photo by Richard Hurd
Government, business and cybersecurity leaders gather at CyberSecure My Business™ Workshop in Madison
MADISON, Wisc., Sept. 13, 2019 ‒ The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), a nonprofit public-private partnership focused on helping all citizens stay safer and more secure online, is teaming up with the Wisconsin Chief Information Officer, the Small Business Administration and others to present NCSA’s CyberSecure My Business™ workshop in Madison on September 24, as part of the Wisconsin Governor’s Cybersecurity Summit.
Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are regular targets for cybercriminals. SMBs represent 54% of the nation’s economy, according to the SBA. In addition, the 2018 Verizon Data Breach Report stated that 58% of targets within their study of more than 53,000 incidents identified as small businesses. Studies show more than half of small businesses would be unprofitable within a month if they were to lose permanent access to their essential data.
With this top of mind, NCSA created a national program designed to help SMBs learn to be safer and more secure online with a non-technical, non-threatening approach. The workshop will cover common cyber threats targeting SMBs, cyber misconceptions, actionable steps or “quick wins” to better secure their businesses and free local, state and national resources to help them improve their cybersecurity.
“The CyberSecure My Business workshop content is designed to be easily understood by people who do not have technical backgrounds,” said Daniel Eliot, NCSA’s director of small business education. “Attendees will leave the workshop with the understanding they are indeed a target, but this isn’t a scare tactic. The rationale is to empower SMB owners, employees, and advisers to take action and implement key actionable steps to secure their personal and business assets. Cybersecurity awareness is great, but cybersecurity action is the goal.”
Participation in the workshop is free, but registration is required. The agenda for the morning workshop, to be held at the UW-Madison Gordon Commons Event Center, 770 W. Dayton in Madison is:
8:30 a.m.: Registration, networking and exhibitor tables
9:00 a.m.: Opening remarks from the U.S. Small Business Administration
9:15 a.m.: Fireside Chat, featuring:
· David Cagigal, Chief Information Officer, State of Wisconsin
· Brian Dennis, Director, Cybersecurity Center for Small Business, UW-Whitewater
· Lisa Plaggemier, Chief Evangelist, Infosec
· Matt Wernz, Attorney, Federal Trade Commission
· Molly Arranz, Partner, SmithAmundsen
10:00 a.m.: CyberSecure My Business™ Workshop
12:00 p.m.: Wrap-up
Visit https://staysafeonline.org/event/csmb-workshop-wi/ to register at no cost.
To learn more about staying safe online and to find links to websites that offer additional account security information, visit www.staysafeonline.org.