Against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine posing potential cyberattacks around the world, U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) sponsored a bipartisan bill to help protect small businesses in the United States.
“With the heightened threat of Russian cyberattacks against U.S. companies, protecting our nation’s small businesses from cyberattacks is both an economic and a national security imperative,” Rep. Joyce said.
The Small Business Cybersecurity Assistance Pilot Program Act, H.R. 6812, which Rep. Joyce sponsored on Feb. 22 with three original cosponsors, including U.S. Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), would authorize appropriations for the Cybersecurity Assistance Pilot Program of the Small Business Administration (SBA) for fiscal years 2023 through 2025, according to the text of the bill.
H.R. 6812 would authorize $3 million for the pilot program, an amount originally appropriated in the enacted fiscal year 2021 appropriations bill but never authorized, according to information provided by Rep. Joyce’s staff. Additionally, H.R. 6812 would require the SBA to report on how the grant funding is used and to identify the current cybersecurity needs of small businesses.
“If cybercrime were measured as a country, it would be the world’s third-largest economy after the U.S. and China,” said Rep. Joyce. “Unfortunately, as more small businesses adopt digital tools, they become increasingly vulnerable to cybersecurity attacks. That’s why I introduced the Small Business Cybersecurity Assistance Pilot Program Act.”
“Cyber criminals do not discriminate when it comes to who they target, whether a fortune 500 company or a mom-and-pop small business,” added Rep. Garbarino. “The only difference is that small businesses often do not have the cybersecurity infrastructure or expertise to protect themselves, creating a great threat to our economy and national security.”
Rep. Garbarino said H.R. 6812 would “provide flexible funding to allow states to assist vulnerable businesses.”
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