Small Business Cyber Threat is Big Threat for West Michigan

The Small Business Development Center of Michigan (SBDC) announced its efforts to assist Michigan small businesses in evaluating risk of cyber threats by offering a free risk assessment tool.

The initiative, which centers on a website assessment tool that evaluates risk and provides cyber security resources, aims to attract 1,000 small businesses across the state by the end of 2015, and 10,000 Michigan businesses by the end of 2016.

The tool is “Small Business, Big Threat” web tool (www.smallbusinessbigthreat.com)

Their goal is to have 1,000 individuals from the Michigan small business community experience the Small Business, Big Threat site by the end of 2015, and hopefully have 10,000 individuals experience the site by the end of 2016.

Grand Rapids-based technology firm Trivalent Group serves as the lead content production partner and cyber security experts.

The foundation of the initiative is a website, www.smallbusinessbigthreat.com, which allows individuals to take the free online assessment. At the conclusion of the assessment, the individuals receive a risk assessment report. From there, participants can choose from a variety of resources to engage with, including in-depth trainings, webinars, best practices, or industry articles on small business cyber security.

The information on the website is targeted to small business owners and employees who are non-technical. The assessment takes between 25 and 35 minutes to complete. The site has been live for a few weeks and already has received positive feedback.

You can learn more about the program and training sessions at www.smallbusinessbigthreat.com.