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World Trade Center Arkansas Hosts Cybersecurity Seminar

Shawn F. Christian, Southeast Regional Manager for Arvest Bank, speaks Thursday, Dec. 12, to small business owners during a cyber-security seminar at the World Trade Center Arkansas.

ROGERS — The World Trade Center Arkansas on Thursday, Dec. 12, hosted a cyber security summit aimed at preventing lost revenue, customers, opportunities, and out-of-pocket costs from cyber attacks on small businesses.

More than 20 representatives of small and medium-sized businesses attend, as security experts from Arvest Bank and the FBI presented best practices for keeping a small business secure in the digital age.

Arkansas Economic Development Comission Manufacturing Solutions (AEDC-MS) put on the seminar in partnership with the FBI, Arvest Bank, Citadel Systems and the World Trade Center Arkansas.

“Trade is based on trust, and once that goes away, the system falters,” said Rudy Ortiz, manager of client services at AEDC-MS.

Ortiz added that these seminars offer protections to small businesses.

While cyber-security is a concern among all businesses, the majority of all targeted cyber attacks in the past year were directed at small and mid-sized businesses.

The Cisco 2018 Security Capabilities Benchmark Study found that more than half (54 percent) of all cyberattacks result in financial damages of more than $500,000, the AEDC noted.

That amount is enough to put an unprepared small/mid-market business out of operation — permanently which is why 60% of small businesses which suffered a cyberattack went out of business within six months, AEDC said.

The mission of the World Trade Center Arkansas is to grow trade and increase Arkansas exports by connecting Arkansas businesses to the world through international trade services.

The Center is part of the University of Arkansas and serves as the trade promotion arm for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission.

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