The Chairman of the House Committee on Small Business, Steve Chabot (R-OH), opened a recent hearing with the startling fact that over 71% of cyber attacks occur at businesses with fewer than 100 employees. He went on to say, “The American government, American businesses, and Americans themselves are attacked over the Internet on a daily basis. Sometimes they know, sometimes they don’t. These attacks come from criminal syndicates, ‘hacktivists,’ and foreign nations. They’re after intellectual property, bank accounts, Social Security numbers, and anything else that can be used for financial gain or a competitive edge.”
The Committee also heard from Todd McCracken, President of the National Small Business Association, who discussed the fact that small companies currently have fewer resources to address cyber attacks. “Many small companies are not in a position to have a dedicated IT department, and many either outsource IT functions or assign such duties to an employee with other responsibilities—often the owner him/herself. In fact, the number of business owners who personally handle IT support appears to be on the rise,” McCracken said.
This testimony was presented on April 22, 2015, as part of the committee’s consideration of H.R. 1560, the Protecting Cyber Networks Act, and H.R. 1731, the National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act. Click here for more information.
