by Morinville Online Staff
With nearly half of small businesses experiencing random cyberattacks in the past year, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is launching a new education program to help business owners improve their cybersecurity.
A new CFIB business survey indicates 45 per cent of small businesses have experienced a random cyberattack in the past year, and 27% experienced a targeted attack.
To help address the issue and assist businesses in protecting themselves, CFIB is partnering with Mastercard and their cybersecurity specialists to launch the Cybersecurity Academy, an online education program to train business owners and their employees on how to improve cybersecurity in their businesses.
“Cyberattacks are a growing threat to small businesses, but enhancing cybersecurity can be intimidating and accessing cybersecurity support can be costly for small businesses,” said CFIB Vice-President of Marketing Partnerships Mandy D’Autremont. “This is why CFIB is launching the CFIB Cybersecurity Academy to make learning about this topic more approachable and give business owners practical tools and information to enhance their cybersecurity. We are very excited about this project and the value it will give to business owners and their employees.”
The CFIB survey found that 11% of businesses had experienced whaling, a phishing attack targeting or impersonating a CEO or business leader in the past year. Additionally, businesses in the professional services (57% random, 28% targeted) and wholesale (58% random, 38% targeted) sectors were most likely to report experiencing cyberattacks in the past year.
Of the businesses surveyed, only 11% of businesses had offered mandatory cybersecurity training to their employees in the past year, and only 8% had provided optional training.
CFIB says their new Cybersecurity Academy will be delivered on a gamified platform in a user-friendly format allowing small business owners and their employees to earn badges and enter into draws for $15,500 in cash.
The online lessons will be free to CFIB members, but CFIB is opening up access to non-members with a free temporary membership to complete the Cybersecurity Academy courses.
“In the digital era, it’s crucial to know how to protect your business and avoid losing valuable assets and time,” D’Autremont said. “It is paramount that we do everything we can to get small business owners access to cybersecurity training for themselves and their employees. Combining specialized courses, engaging technology, incentives and expanded access will ultimately help protect our members, the broader business community and Canada’s economy.”
To learn more and access CFIB’s Cybersecurity Academy, visit cfib.ca/cybersecurityacademy.
