At a Newsmaker event held December 17, 2018, Andrea Edney, President of the National Press Club, conducted a conversation on how small businesses can protect themselves against cyber- attacks. One way Small and Medium-sized Businesses (SMB) can receive help is through the “Cyber Readiness Program” part of the Cyber Readiness Institute (CRI) which helps with cyber security issues https://www.cyberreadinessinstitute.org.
As Kiersten Todt Managing Director of CRI explained, “The Cyber Readiness Program was developed with input from leading security experts, from subject matter experts, plus feedback was obtained from a pilot program consisting of 19 Small Medium-Sized Businesses (SMB located in eight countries. This free self-guided online program provides resources and tools including policies, posters, and workforce educational materials.”
She continued to say, “For those new to cybersecurity, the program provides guidance on what to do, when to do it, and the tools needed to use the program at each step of the way. Companies more familiar with cybersecurity will find useful ways to check their existing program and then be able to communicate ideas to their workforce.”
The Cyber Readiness Program focuses on four key issues that remain a challenge such as authentication, phishing, patching, and the use of USB flash and external hard drives. The Program features five stages that guide an organization to improve their cyber readiness.
These five stages include:
- Select a Cyber Leader
- Learn about the four key issues and then prioritize what to protect
- Develop policies and an incident response plan using CRI templates
- Communicate cyber readiness to the workforce using the CRI kit
- Measure the change in cyber readiness
The discussion continued along with panelists Samuel Palmisano, Former President and CEO IBM, and Valecia Maclin, General Manager for Engineering, Consumer Security and Trust at Microsoft, and Ajay Banga, President and CEO of MasterCard.