Technology1 min read

Self-Employed? Solopreneur? NIST Has a Cybersecurity Guide Just for You

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The updated publication, known as NIST Cybersecurity White Paper 50, provides direct guidance tailored specifically to non-employer small businesses. Readers are introduced to essential digital defense habits that require minimal financial investment, including routine software updates and regular data backups. The material also supplies actionable implementation resources, such as asset-inventory templates, tracking worksheets, and hypothetical case studies illustrating real-world applications for consultants, artisans, and lawyers.

Key points

  • Solopreneurs can implement essential cybersecurity protections without possessing prior t…: Solopreneurs can implement essential cybersecurity protections without possessing prior technical knowledge or investing significant capital.
  • The publication provides an adaptable starting point derived from the foundational NIST C…: The publication provides an adaptable starting point derived from the foundational NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0.
  • Business owners can utilize the included templates to establish a basic security plan and…: Business owners can utilize the included templates to establish a basic security plan and expand protections as operations grow.

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If you work for yourself, as millions of Americans do, protecting your business from cyberattack is one of many responsibilities that falls entirely on your shoulders. Don’t feel daunted: The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has just released a guide with your needs — and busy life — in mind.

Small Business Cybersecurity: Non-Employer Firms (NIST Cybersecurity White Paper 50) is a lay-language resource offering cybersecurity basics tailored expressly to the “solopreneur” — a term referring to anyone who is a business’s sole paid employee. More than 28 million small businesses in the U.S. fall into the solopreneur category, existing in every industry and forming a substantial part of the economy. The publication is written to introduce solopreneurs to the fundamentals of a small-business cybersecurity program and provide an actionable approach to implementing it.

“Because solopreneurs may not have cybersecurity expertise, we wanted to create a resource designed for them,” said NIST’s Daniel Eliot, one of the publication’s authors. “They can implement many of these actions on their own with limited technical knowledge or with minimal financial investment.”

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