ICC issues guide to help MSMEs minimise COVID-19 cyber security risks
What steps can micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) take to protect their business from cybercriminals looking to take advantage of increased online operations as a result of COVID-19?
A new ICC paper, published today, highlights the increased risk to MSMEs of cyber-attacks due to the COVID-19 crisis and sets out concrete steps that can be taken to enhance the security of their operations and workers.
Published as part of a range of resources and tools aiming to help small businesses navigate stay afloat during and post-pandemic, the free-to-download guide underscores the importance for companies to be able to identify cybersecurity threats and effectively manage their information systems during the current crisis, as part of an effective business continuity plan.
“Because of the evolutive nature of cyber threats, even well-protected companies can experience security breaches. Businesses operate in an environment where risk can be minimised but not entirely removed. A quick response is critical in order to mitigate and, where possible, fence off the disruptive effects of an attack,” the paper states.
The ICC guide also highlights a range of training webinars and programmes – available in a range of – languages, to enhance MSME resilience to cyber threats. The guide also calls on policymakers to provide up-to-date and comprehensive information on the locally specific cybersecurity threats that businesses face.
MSMEs and their workers, as well as entrepreneurs and the self-employed, are among the hardest hit by the COVID-19 health and economic crisis. As the institutional representative of more than 45 million companies in over 100 countries, ICC has launched a global campaign to “Save Our SMEs”. As well as raising awareness of the vulnerability of small businesses, the campaign aims to ensure effective policy and fiscal responses and provide resources and tools to small businesses to help business continuity.
