The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has introduced $3 million in new funding to help cybersecurity for rising small companies. The effort, below the Cybersecurity for Small Businesses Pilot Program, will present three grants to state businesses to offer coaching and help to fight cyber threats.
SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzmán emphasised the significance of this funding. “Because small companies characterize 99.9% of America’s companies and make use of almost half of the civilian workforce, cyber threats towards small companies are a risk to our complete financial system,” stated Administrator Guzmán. “The Biden-Harris Administration is dedicated to strengthening our nation’s cybersecurity and offering small companies with the instruments they should strengthen their cyberhealth and stop pricey assaults that disrupt their companies. Through this new funding, the SBA will present funding to ecosystem companions to offer extra cyber coaching and counseling to strengthen small companies’ capacity to compete in an more and more digital financial system.”
Grant functions will likely be accepted from July 2 to August 2. Applicants can apply for grants starting from $1 million to $1.045 million, overlaying a 24-month implementation interval ending in September 2026. Eligible candidates embrace state and territory authorities businesses seeking to present custom-made cybersecurity providers to start-ups and rising entrepreneurs.
This funding alternative will help efforts to coach rising small and medium-sized companies which might be most susceptible to cyber threats, to allow them to develop strong cybersecurity measures which might be important for working in immediately’s digital financial system.
SBA’s Cybersecurity for Small Businesses Pilot Program has awarded almost $9 million since 2022. Proposals for this funding spherical should be posted on Grants.gov by 11:59 pm EDT on August 2 below “Cybersecurity for Small Businesses Pilot” (Funding Opportunity No. SB-OEDCS-24-001).
In addition to the grant packages, the SBA, together with its useful resource companions, is providing a wide range of cybersecurity assets for small companies, together with in-person and on-line coaching. Small enterprise house owners can discover native SBA assets at www.sba.gov/local-assistance and study extra about SBA’s cybersecurity packages and providers at www.sba.gov/cybersecurity.
About the Cybersecurity Pilot Program for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
Cyberattacks are an actual risk to small companies and the U.S. financial system as a complete. According to the FBI Internet Crime Report, cybercrime prices to small companies will attain $2.9 billion in 2023. Small companies are sometimes focused because of their precious data and weaker safety infrastructure in comparison with bigger corporations.
An SBA survey revealed that 88% of small enterprise house owners imagine their corporations are susceptible to cyber assaults. Many small companies can’t afford specialised IT options, do not need the time to commit to cybersecurity, or have no idea the place to begin. Eligible candidates for this program are state governments that need to present cybersecurity coaching and providers to small companies.
The pilot program will allow state governments to develop and innovate current providers and develop new assets to help extra small companies, whereas additionally growing entry to underserved and underrepresented small enterprise communities to make sure a broader influence.
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