27 Sep Bipartisan cyber-bill seeks to aid small businesses

New bill addresses cybersecurity and IT concerns

House and Senate lawmakers are looking to pass a bill that will provide cybersecurity-related benefits to small businesses, nonprofit groups, and local governments.

The new bill is referred to as the Improving Cybersecurity of Small Organizations Act. Primarily, the bill will require CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency) to provide various guidelines to the mentioned organizations regarding cybersecurity policies. CISA and the SBA (Small Business Association) would be required to provide the mentioned guidance if the bill passes.

Reasons for promoting the bill and its bipartisan support related to resources (or lack of, rather). Many businesses, especially smaller ones and nonprofits do not have the financial capital to hire on expert IT staff or invest in elaborate cybersecurity resources. 

Cybersecurity and IT infrastructure are both serious concerns for organizations of any size, especially as malware attacks increase. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has seen the rapid increase of remote working solutions. While practical, as we’ve mentioned at Bytagig, this created an environment where less than secure networks were targeted.

More about the bill

John Katko and Anna Eshoo are the primary sponsors of the bill.

Eshoo emphasized the growing need for cybersecurity protections in an environment where capital was lacking. They also mentioned current guides, policies, and regulations are difficult to understand, typically “geared towards professionals.”

As we’ve also talked about many times on Bytagig, education is key. Therefore, implementing accessible guidelines understandable by everyone is a serious boost to IT and cyber defense.

It’s an important step forward, as it acknowledges the severe threat numerous businesses and organizations face, regardless of size. A common and dangerous misconception is smaller companies are ignored by attacks and malware. Thus far, this has proven false.

The prevalence of ransomware has also seen an uptick in attacks.

With bipartisan support (meaning it’s backed by both Democrats and Republicans), the bill is expected to pass and help revitalize cybersecurity guidelines.

In the meantime, you can get more information by contacting Bytagig today.