International Chamber of Commerce Joins Cyber Readiness Institute Champion Network to Help Global Small Businesses Become More Cyber Resilient

WASHINGTON, DC, Dec. 3, 2019 — The Cyber Readiness Institute (CRI) today welcomed the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) to its Cyber Readiness Champion Network. ICC, a leader in promoting international trade and responsible business conduct, will now make the CRI Cyber Readiness Program available to all members looking to protect themselves from digital threats.

ICC is now the 68th member of the CRI Champion Network. A diverse group of companies and organizations representing more than 1 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are now actively promoting CRI resources that enable organizations to build cyber secure cultures through employee education and training.

“Regardless of whether or not you are a company in Dubuque or Dubai, your employees are the front lines of your cyber defenses and the foundation of your cybersecurity,” said CRI’s managing director Kiersten Todt. “ICC is the world’s largest global business organization and we look forward to sharing our resources and tools with its millions of members. Our Cyber Readiness Program is already available in English, Chinese, Spanish, and Portuguese and will soon be available in Arabic, Japanese and French.”

Cyber issues pose significant risks to the reputation of businesses and their bottom lines. New research from the Ponemon Institute found that two-thirds of SMEs suffered cyber attacks over the past 12 months and 63% reported a data breach. Further, companies spent an average of $1.2 million per attack to fix damages, recoup theft of IT assets and to improve infrastructure. In addition, disruption to normal operations cost an average of $1.9 million, an increase from $1.21 million in 2017.

“Small and medium-sized businesses in operation today face a risk of cyber attack that greatly exceeds the capacity they typically have to manage it. In partnering with the Cyber Readiness Institute, we aim to better equip these companies so critical to the global economy to integrate valuable tools and practices for a more cyber-secure future,” said John W.H. Denton AO, secretary general of the ICC.

CRI is focused on educating SMEs about the basic steps they can take to reduce risk and improve cyber readiness by creating a culture of cybersecurity that focuses on people.

One of CRI’s strategic goals for 2019 was to build a network of Champions that would have access to over one million SMEs across multiple continents. With the addition of ICC as CRI’s 68th Champion in its network, CRI has now built this network of over one million SMEs and looks forward to continued growth and expansion of its network around the world.

Cyber Readiness Institute

The Cyber Readiness Institute is a non-profit initiative that convenes senior business leaders from across sectors and geographic regions to share resources and knowledge that inform the development of free cybersecurity tools for small and medium-sized enterprises. The Institute seeks to advance the cyber readiness of small and medium-sized enterprises to improve the security of global value chains. The free, self-guided Cyber Readiness Program for small and medium-sized enterprises was launched in December 2018 and is available in English, Spanish, Chinese, French and Portuguese. Additional translations will soon be available in Japanese and Arabic.

International Chamber of Commerce

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) is the world’s largest business organization representing more than 45 million companies in over 100 countries. ICC’s core mission is to make business work for everyone, every day, everywhere. Through a unique mix of advocacy, solutions and standard setting, we promote international trade, responsible business conduct and a global approach to regulation, in addition to providing market-leading dispute resolution services. Our members include many of the world’s leading companies, SMEs, business associations and local chambers of commerce.