ClikCloud Founder Testifies Before House Committee on How Small Businesses are Affected by Cyber Attacks

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Mar 21, 2013, 12:00 ET

Encourages National Data Breach Notification Reform; Workforce Development; Business Education, Training, Procedures and Insurance

WASHINGTON, March 21, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) today announced that Dan Shapero, founder of ClikCloud, testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Small Business Subcommittee on Health and Technology on cyber security and its impact on small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the innovation-driven IT sector.

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Shapero, who brings 25 years in the IT sector as an executive and entrepreneur, highlighted two policy issues that have a significant and ongoing impact on the IT SMB: national data breach notification reform and workforce development.

In his testimony, Shapero stated, "The majority of cyber attacks create exposure across state lines and are an area of serious concern. There are currently 47 state data breach notification (DBN) laws in place, imposing duplicative costs and an undue burden on SMBs. These issues are compounded in the context of the cloud due to the mobility of data. In a cloud environment, data travels across multiple jurisdictions adding more uncertainty for SMBs who may not have the resources to understand their DBN compliance obligations."

Shapero stated that a national framework for DBN is called for to ensure good practices and encourage expansion of IT services across state lines.

He also addressed the importance of workforce development to meet cyber security threats.

"Another issue that we face as small- and medium-sized businesses is the ability to recruit and retain in-house talent to help protect ourselves from cyber attacks. However, there is a skills-gap issue that is affecting the IT community as a whole. There are approximately 250,000 open IT jobs in the U.S. at any given time. As the SMB community, not only are we competing with the rest of the world for this talent, we are competing against other larger U.S. companies with big names."

"Certifications play an important role in this conversation," said Elizabeth Hyman, vice president, public advocacy, CompTIA. "It is a way for employers to validate an applicant's knowledge and skill set. Having access to a plentiful and skilled workforce will help companies protect themselves from cyber attacks."

About CompTIA

CompTIA is the voice of the world's information technology (IT) industry. Its members are the companies at the forefront of innovation; and the professionals responsible for maximizing the benefits organizations receive from their investments in technology. CompTIA is dedicated to advancing industry growth through its educational programs, market research, networking events, professional certifications, and public policy advocacy. Visit http://www.comptia.org/home.aspx or follow CompTIA at http://www.facebook.com/CompTIA and twitter.com/comptia.

SOURCE CompTIA