Forge Institute Awarded Grant to Help Arkansas Small Businesses Combat Emerging Cyber Threats
Forge Institute announced today that it has been selected by the U.S. Small Business Administration as one of three (3) awardees of the Cybersecurity for Small Business Pilot Program. The funding allows the Arkansas Cyber Defense Center (ACDC) – which launched last spring – to further build capacity and expand critical cybersecurity services to address the escalating cyber attacks targeting small businesses.
With support from the SBA, Forge Institute will be able to strengthen the services offered to Arkansas’ small business community from the Arkansas Cyber Defense Center (ACDC). The ACDC will provide cybersecurity services, including an awareness campaign, training for small businesses on how to develop and use a Cybersecurity Incident Response Playbook, how to interact with law enforcement, and provide an overview of legal agreements and privacy statements. ACDC will also conduct 260 assessments for at least 130 small businesses during the course of the first year. Joint awareness campaigns and training will be conducted by Forge Institute in collaboration with the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center (ASBTDC) and academic members of the Consortium for Cyber Innovation (CCI).
This pilot will greatly benefit Arkansas small businesses, many of which are vendors to critical infrastructure and therefore targets of organized crime and nation-state adversaries. Forge Institute is a partner with the US Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and regularly leverages cyber threat information to protect its partners.
"Our team is excited to receive support from the SBA, which will allow us to further develop capabilities in the Arkansas Cyber Defense Center (ACDC) to engage, train and assess cybersecurity risks for Arkansas' small businesses. Developing cyber resiliency within our small business community is vital to supporting and growing the economic lifeblood of our state,” said Scott A. Anderson, Executive Director, Forge Institute
“Many small businesses are ill-equipped to defend against or thwart cyber-attacks because they do not have access to resources, tools or knowledge. Empowering and preparing small businesses to combat cybersecurity threats during their formative and most vulnerable years is fundamental to mounting an adequate defense to this growing threat. The Forge Institute ACDC will provide small businesses with the necessary resources to create and maintain frontline defenses against attacks,” said Asa Hutchinson, Governor of the State of Arkansas.
“I am so excited that Forge Institute, which has a long history of training beginners and professionals about cybersecurity, has received a grant to help our small businesses learn cyber techniques to keep them safe from malicious online attackers. Soon, Arkansas small businesses will be able to get direct help for compromised systems for free from the ACDC. SBA looks forward to more states being able to provide this kind of service in the near future through more SBA cybersecurity pilot program initiatives,” said Ted James, Region 6 South Central Administrator of the SBA.
“The ASBTDC is excited for Forge Institute’s SBA award. We look forward to expanding our collaborative partnership to drive greater cybersecurity awareness to reduce cyber threats to our state’s small business community,” said Laura Fine, Director, Arkansas Small Business Technology Development Center (ASBTDC)
According to the SBA’s Cybersecurity for Small Business Pilot Program, the SBA’s goal is to help emerging small businesses develop their cybersecurity infrastructure – which is a priority of the Biden-Harris Administration as outlined in the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
A key component of the ACDC is to provide work-based learning experiences for Arkansas’ students. Up to eight (8) interns will be hired for a paid internship from the University of Arkansas, UA Little Rock and UA Pine Bluff.
“The UA Little Rock Cybersecurity Lab is excited to continue our years’ long collaboration with Forge Institute and support the ACDC by providing students for paid internships to assist in the delivery of cybersecurity awareness training and outreach services. As a research partner with the Consortium for Cyber Innovation (CCI), it’s exciting to see opportunities for our students to immediately apply their knowledge for the benefit of Arkansas. This collaboration puts our students on the frontlines in cybersecurity to develop innovations that will improve cybersecurity for small businesses.” Philip Huff, PhD, Assistant Professor Cybersecurity, UA Little Rock
The specific services for Arkansas’ Small Businesses will launch this fall. Until then, any organization is welcome to call the Arkansas Cyber Defense Center (ACDC) at 501-239-9599 or visit the website at www.forge.institute/acdc.
Key Facts
● Funding enables expansion of services from the Arkansas Cyber Defense Center (ACDC) to assist Arkansas small businesses better combat cybersecurity threats
● Small businesses will receive training, assessments and other tailored cybersecurity services
● The ACDC is a first of its kind collaboration to address operational cybersecurity challenges faced by small businesses
