About the Arkansas Cyber Defense Center:
In an era where cyber threats loom large, small businesses in Arkansas find themselves facing a unique set of challenges when it comes to cybersecurity. Recognizing the need for solutions for businesses that do not have a cybersecurity department, the Arkansas Cyber Defense Center (ACDC) has begun frontrunning as a shield for these companies. Powered by a grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration, the ACDC is pioneering efforts to fortify the digital defenses across the state by offering free cybersecurity services (including assessments) to any small business based in Arkansas.
How do you know if you need an assessment?
Regardless of your line of work, your business is most definitely at risk. Cybercriminals often target smaller entities precisely because they lack the robust cybersecurity measures that larger corporations employ. An assessment is the first step in figuring out how to improve your cybersecurity posture. If you go to the doctor to get a sickness diagnosis, the doctor doesn’t glance at you from across the waiting room and say “You’ve got the flu.” Your vitals have to be taken, and a series of tests need to be performed to see how your body is performing. Similarly, the assessments we provide take a look at your cyber vitals, and then we provide you with remediation strategies for where you need it most.
How the assessments work:
The Arkansas Cyber Defense Center offers two assessments, the Cyber Health Self Assessment (CHSA) and the Cybersecurity Maturity Assessment (CSMA). Both assessments are based on industry standards set by the Center for Internet Standards (CIS) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). We take these extremely technical standards that seem to have been written by rocket scientists, advanced AI and alien robots, and break them down into questions that can be understood with a non-technical background. An analyst takes your answers to these questions and creates a report that offers remediation strategies for the areas you should focus on.
Cybersecurity Maturity Assessment (CSMA):
The CSMA is a personalized, in-depth and comprehensive evaluation of a small business’s cybersecurity posture. Through this approach, an analyst can come to your facility in person or visit with you in a Zoom meeting and have an in-depth conversation with you to help identify vulnerabilities, assess current defenses and provide actionable recommendations for improvement. This one can take up to an hour and a half. Although this assessment is more specialized, our trained analysts do a great job keeping the conversation understandable and pleasant. The personalized engagement ensures that businesses receive tailored solutions that align with their unique operations and challenges. In your finalized report, weighted scores are given to different cybersecurity categories based on several factors during your interview. We understand that businesses may not have the time and resources to address every single security issue that is known in the cybersecurity realm, so your report is designed to highlight the areas that you should focus remediation efforts first in order to do the most good. Remediation strategies will also be available for all other areas of the assessment, for down the road goals, and our analysts will be available to talk to you if you have questions. Again, all of this is free to you, paid in full by the SBA.
Why Small Businesses Should Prioritize Cybersecurity:
The importance of cybersecurity for small businesses cannot be overstated. As enterprises increasingly rely on digital platforms for operations, customer interactions and financial transactions, the risk of cyber threats escalates. A breach can lead to financial losses, compromised customer data and reputational damage that may take years to repair. Get a free assessment done from the Arkansas Cyber Defense Center so that you can worry a little less about the bad guys, and you can focus more on day-to-day business.
Contact the ACDC:
To learn more about the services offered by the Arkansas Cyber Defense Center, visit forge.institute/acdc. For inquiries and assistance, reach out to us directly at 501-239-9599.
