Internet Security Essentials for Business 2.0 | U.S …

October, 2012

The online marketplace is the new Main Street in America. The National Broadband Plan estimates that 97% of small businesses use email and 74% have a company website. Small businesses are more dependent on the Internet for their day-to-day operations than they were a year ago. That should come as no surprise as the proliferation of smart phones, tablets, and apps enables businesses and households to conduct more and more of their daily activities onlinefrom paying bills to shopping to communicating with colleagues, employees, and customers.

Small businesses handle an array of sensitive information (e.g., customer data, financial records, and intellectual property) that warrants protection from bad actors. As larger companies improve their defenses and resilience against cyber threats, small businesses have become the low-hanging fruit for cyber criminals.

Through the U.S. Chamber of Commerces Internet Security Essentials for Business 2.0 guide, business owners, managers, and employees are urged to adopt fundamental Internet security practices to reduce network weaknesses and make the price of successful hacking increasingly steep. The guide emphasizes the following points:

The U.S. Chamber, Bank of America, Microsoft Trustworthy Computing, Splunk, and Visa have teamed up to provide businesses with the cyber guidebook, which gives small and medium-size businesses tools for protecting computers and networks and responding to cyber incidents. Here are some educational resources:

Internet Security at Work ToolkitMicrosoft offers the toolkit free to help you teach employees how to protect company, customer, and employee information. It includes the following resources with instructions on how to use them:

For a copy of the complete toolkit on a flash drive, email saferweb@microsoft.com.

Security Intelligence and ComplianceSplunk helps businesses make machine data accessible, usable, and valuable to everyone. Splunk takes terabytes of data in variable formats and allows you to effortlessly mine and continuously monitor them for information and insight. Here are some links to online resources to get started:

Data Security ResourcesThere are a number of common best practices that companies can adopt to protect payment data from online and other threats. Here are resources from Visa:

http://www.stopthinkconnect.orgSTOP. THINK. CONNECT.online safety and security education and awareness campaign

http://www.staysafeonline.orgNational Cyber Security Alliancetools and resources for business and home users

http://www.fcc.gov/cyberplannerFederal Communication Commission (FCC) and partners Small Biz Cyber Planneran online resource to help small businesses create customized cybersecurity plans

http://www.msisac.orgMulti-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC)cybersecurity guides, toolkits, and newsletters

http://www.ftc.gov/infosecurity; http://business.ftc.govFederal Trade Commissions (FTC) Protecting Personal Information: A Guide for Business; Bureau of Consumer Protection Business Center

http://csrc.nist.gov; http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/SMA/sbc/index.htmlNational Institute of Standards of Technology (NIST), Computer Security Division, Computer Security Resource Division; NIST Small Business Corner

http://www.dhs.gov/cyberDepartment of Homeland Security (DHS) Cybersecurity Awareness Month and related resources

http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tipsUnited States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) cybersecurity tips

http://www.justice.gov/criminal/cybercrimeDepartment of Justice (DOJ) Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Security Sectionlinks to report Internet-related and intellectual property crime

http://www.secretservice.gov/ectf.shtmlSecret Service Electronic Crimes Task Force (ECTF)links to more than 20 state and local ECTFs

http://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/Cyberspace_Policy_Review_final.pdfThe White House, Cyberspace Policy Review: Assuring a Resilient and Trusted Information and Communications Infrastructure

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce does not endorse any of the products or services contained here and in the guidebook.

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