President Donald Trump signs NIST Small Business Cybersecurity Act into law

U.S. President Donald Trump signed the NIST Small Business Cybersecurity Act, S. 770 (formerly known as the MAIN STREET Cybersecurity Act) into law on Tuesday (August 14, 2018). It requires NIST to “disseminate clear and concise resources to help small business concerns identify, assess, manage, and reduce their cybersecurity risks.”

Small businesses are a pillar of the American economy and make up more than half of all jobs in the United States. But these businesses have also become a major target for cyber-attacks.

The Department of Homeland Security has renewed efforts to work with industry on cybersecurity with the recently launched National Risk Management Center and a national cybersecurity summit. A “collective defense” strategy is critical for real-time data sharing and action as digital interdependence deepens, according to DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

Yet the collaboration must extend beyond the resources and power of big tech. Small and mid-size businesses with fewer resources and weaker defenses can make easier targets for hackers. Efforts to mitigate the high costs and barriers to entry in implementing security and recovery programs can protect against the high economic cost of breaches.

But many businesses neglect seeking out cybersecurity solutions because of a lack of understanding, and the act does not specify how to engage with small businesses to change course and seek out NIST resources. Just making guidelines won’t be enough if businesses aren’t more actively engaged.

This new act is a great help in assisting those small businesses that wish to improve their cybersecurity to do so. But it needs to be made a requirement before it will seriously improve the overall cybersecurity posture of the nation.

The Techcess CyberSecurity Group provides small and medium-sized businesses with the comprehensive services and support to ensure that their organization’s information systems remain secure and reliable. Located in Houston, Texas, we strive to provide our clients with enterprise-level security services they need to ward off and eliminate both run-of-the-mill security issues and the most destructive security threats many of today’s businesses face.

If your business has had problems with its IT security; or, if you understand that too much is at stake to not have complete protection for your company’s critical data and information systems, contact us today to learn more.

Speak to a support team member on the phone now! Phone: 1-833-TXCYBER | 1-281-701-3257