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Kholekile Gwebu and Jing Wang, associate professors of decision sciences in the , noticed something interesting when they were studying best practices for companies dealing with cybersecurity issues.

鈥淐ybersecurity is often neglected,鈥� says听Gwebu. 鈥淣ew Hampshire is full of small businesses, so we saw a gap there.鈥�

Gwebu and Wang are connecting their research to help businesses better plan for information security risks. They are learning about the cybersecurity practices and needs of small businesses听and offering resources to help businesses meet those needs.

Cybersecurity symposium

Using a grant from Paul College, Gwebu and Wang听offered a free symposium for small business owners听on Nov. 4 at听the 麻豆app鈥檚 Durham campus. The symposium was designed to听raise awareness about cybersecurity risks to small businesses听and听provide听best practices for companies to mitigate these risks.

Since the duo's听research aims to understand what issues small businesses run into when dealing with cybersecurity, they听partnered with two centers in Paul College that focus on small businesses in the region 鈥斕齮he and the 听鈥� who matched them with local small businesses听interested in learning more about cybersecurity.听

鈥淲e have always known that听small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)听face听unique challenges听when dealing with cybersecurity. Conversations with SMEs at the听symposium听allowed听us to听better understand their challenges and derive听cybersecurity听solutions that are specifically geared听toward听them,鈥� said Wang.

鈥淭he symposium offered good information to help us come up with our risk management plan.鈥�

The Center for Family Business connection brought Michelle DuPont, owner of the Lake Opechee Inn and Spa in Laconia, and her business operations manager, Annie Boissoneau, to the event.

鈥淲e are more vulnerable to security risks than a large corporation,鈥� said Boissoneau. 鈥淭he symposium offered good information to help us come up with our risk management plan.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 pointing us in the right direction and giving us resources we can come back to,鈥� said DuPont.

Patrick Brown, owner of Ames Farm Inn in Gilford, said what he learned at the symposium made him feel better about what he can do to mitigate cyber attacks.

鈥淚 liked that one of the speakers showed the process of the advanced threat attacker, because we were able to see that it鈥檚 a series of small events rather than one big one out of nowhere,鈥� Brown听said. 鈥淭hat makes me feel like I could do something to protect my business.鈥�

Raising awareness of state resources and regulations

鈥淣ew Hampshire has been at the forefront of听the development of strict data security breach notification laws and penalties,鈥� said Gwebu. 鈥淲e wanted to raise awareness among small businesses in the state about New Hampshire鈥檚 resources and regulations.鈥�

That鈥檚 why one of the three symposium speakers听was Denis Goulet, chief information officer at the New Hampshire Department of Information Technology. In addition to Goulet, Diana Kelley, executive security advisor for IBM Security, and Todd Waskelis, vice president of AT&T Security Solutions, gave talks at the symposium.

鈥淲e wanted high impact speakers, and we were extremely fortunate to have three distinguished cybersecurity leaders come and speak,鈥� said Gwebu.

Gwebu and Wang's听students were invited to attend the symposium, and students in two information systems classes created research posters about common information security topics and presented them to听attendees. The students also created a website with听videos and resources for symposium-goers.

鈥淚t was听rewarding seeing听our听students using听the听knowledge they had gained in the classroom to make a meaningful听difference in听our local business community,鈥� said Wang.

The听first year of the symposium was a success, with 30 businesses and nearly 100 students attending. Gwebu and Wang hope to make it听an annual event.

听鈥淲e have a great opportunity through Paul College to have an impact on small businesses in the state, and we want to take advantage of that,鈥� Gwebu听said.