Hassan introduces bill to help NH small businesses strengthen cyber defenses

Aug. 6—WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., introduced a bill to strengthen small businesses' cybersecurity by providing funding to Small Business Development Centers, including to the New Hampshire Small Business Development Center's Cybersecurity Review program that started in 2020 with federal funding Hassan worked on a bipartisan basis to secure.

"As small businesses continue to modernize and do more work online, the risk of cyberattacks becomes more serious," Hassan said. "New Hampshire's Small Business Development Center is providing crucial support to local businesses, reviewing their cybersecurity and helping them defend against hackers. I encourage my colleagues to pass this bill so that Small Business Development Centers in New Hampshire and across the country can keep working to protect small businesses from cyberattacks and help them thrive."

"A cyberattack can seriously debilitate a small business's operations, and it is essential that small businesses have the tools to fend off these risks," said Liz Gray, state director of the New Hampshire Small Business Development Council. "We used much-needed CARES Act federal funding Hassan helped secure in 2020 to start a program to help New Hampshire small businesses strengthen cybersecurity, and I am excited that Sen. Hassan is now introducing this bill to help us continue our efforts. This program is essential to getting our state's small businesses additional tools to be prepared for cyberattacks."

The Small Business Cybersecurity Act would establish a federal program to provide direct grants to Small Business Development Centers in order to create or continue cybersecurity programs for small businesses. The funds can be used to help Small Business Development Centers provide cybersecurity training for small business employees and administer reviews of small business's cybersecurity.

Hassan is leading bipartisan efforts to strengthen cybersecurity at every level of government. Hassan successfully secured her bipartisan amendment in the most recent annual defense bill to ensure that the National Guard can help state and local governments and businesses improve their cybersecurity. In addition, Hassan worked to pass into law her measure to create a Cybersecurity Coordinator in every state to help federal, state, and local governments, as well as schools, hospitals, and other entities, coordinate and better protect their systems against cyberattacks. Hassan also helped secure a measure in the bipartisan infrastructure law to create and fund a state and local cybersecurity grant program.