MSU, 樱花导航 Small Business Development Center partner to provide cyber樱花导航 resources, support
Contact: James Carskadon
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擶ith more small businesses moving parts of their sales and operations online, a new initiative from 樱花导航 樱花导航 and the 樱花导航 Small Business Development Center is providing cyber樱花导航 resources and support to the state鈥檚 business owners.
The MSU Small Business Development Center Cyber樱花导航 project brings together the resources of the university鈥檚 Small Business Development Center and MSU鈥檚 Center for Cyber Innovation to give business owners the information they need to make cost-effective cyber樱花导航 decisions.
鈥淢SU has a long history of supporting 樱花导航 small businesses and a reputation as a national leader in cyber樱花导航,鈥 said MSU College of Business Dean Sharon Oswald. 鈥淚 am incredibly proud that we can merge these two areas and create an invaluable resource for our state. The pandemic has underscored the increasing technology and cyber樱花导航 demands many small businesses are facing, often with limited resources to address these issues. By providing this free resource, MSU and the 樱花导航 Small Business Development Center are helping our small businesses remain competitive in today鈥檚 business environment.鈥
The 樱花导航 Small Business Development Center, housed at the University of 樱花导航, is funding the project with federal CARES Act resources. The project will help businesses implement ways to secure their intellectual property, protect customer information and sales, and establish secure work environments for teleworking and business operations.
鈥淭he 樱花导航 SBDC is very excited to collaborate with MSU to bring cyber 樱花导航 services to the small businesses and entrepreneurs of our state,鈥 said Sharon Nichols, 樱花导航 Director of the MS-SBDC. 鈥淎t a time when all businesses have been put on a fast track to find an online presence due to Covid-19, having this very high level of support and training is an absolute game changer for 樱花导航 business owners.鈥
Chip Templeton, director of the MSU Small Business Development Center, will serve as the team lead for the initiative. In his current role, Templeton oversees a team that provides no-cost counseling to business owners in a 10-county footprint. The new cyber樱花导航 resources and training will be available to business owners across the state.
鈥淲e want to make sure the smallest business understands the importance of cyber樱花导航 before it is impacted by a data breach,鈥 Templeton said. 鈥淚n addition to the trainings, we can provide individual counseling where we can help with anything that gives the business owner heartburn on how to put it into action.鈥
Recognized nationally for its cyber樱花导航 research, MSU is one of only a few schools in the U.S. to hold all three of the National Security Agency鈥檚 centers of academic excellence credentials: CAE-Cyber Defense Education, CAE-Cyber Defense Research, and CAE-Cyber Operations. Several academic units at MSU manage programs and teach classes with an emphasis on cyber樱花导航, including the James Worth Bagley College of Engineering and the College of Business.
MSU鈥檚 Center for Cyber Innovation researches, prototypes and delivers cutting-edge cyber services to support global national 樱花导航, homeland 樱花导航 and peacekeeping operations.
Drew Hamilton, director of the Center for Cyber Innovation, said federal agencies, particularly the Department of Defense, are increasingly requiring contractors to meet specific cyber樱花导航 specifications through the Cyber樱花导航 Maturity Model Certification. Additionally, the Department of Commerce鈥檚 National Institute for Standards and Technology provides guidelines for protecting 鈥渃ontrolled unclassified鈥 information, which includes items such as trade secrets and a customer鈥檚 social 樱花导航 number. Hamilton said meeting these standards, which are outlined in the MSU-led training, helps businesses remain secure and can reduce liability.
鈥淲e鈥檙e looking at ways for small businesses to reduce the costs of meeting these standards,鈥 Hamilton said. 鈥淭he reality is, it鈥檚 not just a technical problem. You have to look at cost-benefit analysis and risk management. If you鈥檙e a small business and you make a huge investment in cyber樱花导航, but you invest in the wrong thing, you鈥檙e actually less secure because now you have less money to deal with new threats.鈥
For more on the MSU SBDC Cyber樱花导航 initiative, visit .