FCC Urges SMBs to Protect IT Networks, Customers

Message from the Federal Communications Commission to small and midsize business (SMB) owners everywhere: Protect yourselves and your clients. The message came from FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski in a congressional newspaper. The news came after the FCC had a roundtable discussion on cybersecurity and identified three things SMBs need to protect: their networks, their intellectual property and their clients’ personal information. Here’s an excerpt from the story published in The Hill in which Chairman Genachowski talked about SMB cybersecurity:

“It’s readily available, low-hanging fruit when it comes to cybersecurity planning for the country. It’s about taking the best practices, basic ideas that are widely accepted and making sure that they’re communicated to small businesses.” The security message from the FCC to SMB’s came after Symantec reported roughly 75 percent of SMB’s suffered cyber attacks last year and cost each company an average of $200,000 per attack.

The FCC has released a cybersecurity tipsheet to help SMB’s protect their customers information and their own networks. The FCC is also entering into the following partnerships to help combat cyber security:

MSPs are constantly developing security systems and backup/disaster recovery (BDR) applications to help strengthen email security and protection against malware. One hundred percent safety is unlikely, but it’s clear the FCC doesn’t think SMB network security is where it should be.

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