The Urgent Need to Strengthen the Cyber Readiness of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses: A Global Perspective

The Cyber Readiness Institute has released a White Paper urging the Biden Administration to address specific cyber readiness challenges that small and medium-sized businesses face. The paper recommends the following:

  • Create a national awareness campaign to promote cyber readiness for SMBs
  • Create a cybersecurity resource center for SMBs within the federal government
  • Offer tax credits to encourage SMBs to invest in cybersecurity
  • Establish public/private collaboration to set minimum standards for cybersecurity
  • Create government-funded Cyber Squads, in collaboration with community and 4-year colleges

While these recommendations are directed at the current U.S. administration, they can be applied and taken into consideration by global organizations and governments. To better understand the challenges faced by U.S. and global SMBs, CRI, in partnership with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), surveyed over 1,000 enterprises. Both the U.S. and Global survey results support the above recommendations for strengthening the cyber readiness of SMBs in the U.S. and internationally. You can read the White Paper here.

Below are the full survey results:

Cyber Readiness Institute Global Cybersecurity Survey, January 2021

Bar chart comparing cyber incident preparedness in US and Global workplaces
Bar chart comparing employee cybersecurity responsibility in US and Global workplaces

 

Bar chart comparing US and Global workplace responses
Bar chart comparing US and Global workplace responses

 

Bar chart comparing US and Global workplace responses
Bar chart comparing US and Global workplace responses

 

Bar chart comparing US and Global workplace responses
Bar chart comparing US and Global workplace responses

 

Bar chart comparing US and Global workplace responses
Bar chart comparing US and Global workplace responses

 

 

*Survey Size: U.S. is 576 and Global is 517