FCC Highlights New Initiatives to Enhance Online Security for Small Businesses

The FCC helped kick off National Small Business Week Monday with a roundtable event that brought together leaders from the public, private, and non-profit sectors to discuss the most effective ways for small businesses to protect themselves from cyber attacks. According to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, “While it is critical to secure the government and large industry from cyber threats, it is vital that cybersecurity for small business be in this equation.”

In response to this need, the FCC unveiled several initiatives at the roundtable event, including:

• A new section of the FCC website that provides a list of cybersecurity tips and resources for small businesses. The FCC is partnering with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, McAfee, Symantec, SCORE, and the National Urban League to share the cybersecurity tip list through blogs, social media, and other outreach to small businesses.
• A partnership with SCORE’s eBusiness Now program to provide cybersecurity recommendations to small businesses at SCORE events.
• A partnership with organizations including the National Urban League, The National Congress of American Indians, LULAC, LISTA, The National Black Chamber of Commerce, and The National Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to ensure that FCC materials are accessible to a diverse range of small businesses.

In addition, the FCC reported that it will be joining the public/private National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE), which heads the national Stop. Think. Connect. campaign.

Over one-half of all American business establishments employ fewer than five people (54% of U.S. businesses, or approximately 4.1 million establishments according to the most recent County Business Patterns report by the U.S. Census Bureau), so it’s important for small businesses to have access to cybersecurity resources that can fit within their often-limited budgets. Connected Nation research shows that broadband is a vital tool through which small businesses can streamline their work, find new customers, and become more efficient competitors in today’s global marketplace. According to Connected Nation’s recent Business Technology Assessment, small businesses (those with fewer than five employees) that use broadband earn median annual revenues that are more than $50,000 higher than their competitors that do not use broadband.

Yet concerns about cybersecurity present a barrier to adopting broadband, as 8% of small business establishments in states and territories served by Connected Nation (approximately 32,000 businesses with fewer than five employees) say that concerns about online security risks prevent them from subscribing to broadband.

Stay tuned as we commemorate National Small Business Week by showcasing the impact that broadband technology has on small businesses.