Small Business is a Big Priority: NIST Expands Outreach to the Small Business Community

Did you know that 99.9% of businesses in America are small businesses?[1] Small businesses are a major source of innovation for our country—but they’re often faced with limited resources and budgets. Many of them need cybersecurity solutions, guidance, and training so they can cost-effectively address and manage their cybersecurity risks. Hmmm…where can you find guidance like this all in one place?

Voila! The Small Business Cybersecurity Corner!

This website was created by NIST in 2019 in response to the NIST Small Business Cybersecurity Act, which directed us to “disseminate clear and concise resources to help small business concerns identify, assess, manage, and reduce their cybersecurity risks.” This resource repository has grown over the years and offers videos, planning guides, case studies, topical guidance (e.g., ransomware, phishing, and teleworking), and important information that small businesses can put into action. We didn’t stop there.

Introducing the Small Business Community of Interest (COI)

On March 6, 2023, NIST launched a new small business initiative that will create more opportunities for the exchange of information, resources, and ideas between NIST and the nation’s small business community via the creation of a new Small Business Community of Interest. The COI will bring together the small business community, companies, trade associations, and others who can share business insights, expertise, challenges, and perspectives to guide our work.

By forming a COI dedicated specifically to small businesses, we hope to help create a more engaging way for smaller companies to communicate their cybersecurity needs, share challenges, and discuss pressing issues. Over 1,000 small businesses have already joined this COI since it was launched last month. Interested? We’d love for you to ‪join as well!

NIST is currently building the COI and plans to begin hosting regular meetings in the coming months.

Upcoming SMB Events in 2023:

NIST’s National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) will be hosting two events during National Small Business Week (April 30-May 6, 2023) as part of its NCCoE Learning Series and to begin engaging the new COI. A third virtual event will be hosted in June—and all three webinars will feature new and existing NIST small business resources (and will give attendees the opportunity to share ideas, ask questions, and engage with NIST subject matter experts). Here are the details:

• May 2: Celebrating National Small Business Week: Overview of the NIST Small Business Cybersecurity Corner
  • Attend this learning series to get an overview of the NIST Small Business Cybersecurity Corner site and get an opportunity to express what resources you’d like to see added.
     
• May 4: Data Analytics for Small Businesses: How to Manage Privacy Risks
  • Join us for an interactive discussion about how to manage privacy risks associated with data analytics.
     
• June 28: Security Segmentation for Small Manufacturers
  • Meet the authors of the NIST Cybersecurity White Paper, Security Segmentation in a Small Manufacturing Environment, and learn the six step approach that manufacturers can follow to implement security segmentation and mitigate cyber vulnerabilities in their manufacturing environments.

More events are planned for the year. By joining the COI, you’ll be the first to hear when new events are on our lineup.

Knowledge sharing, transparency, and collaboration are at the heart of NIST’s work. We are committed to helping the small business community manage its cybersecurity risks with actionable, easy-to-understand information that is grounded in NIST’s foundational guidance…but we can’t do it alone. We will rely on your input and guidance to inform what will be most impactful. 

Have a question, comment, or idea? Reach out to the NIST small business team: smallbizsecurity [at] nist.gov (smallbizsecurity[at]nist[dot]gov)!