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Opinion: Delaware small business face increasing cyber threats. We can fight them

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3 months ago

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Opinion: Delaware small business face increasing cyber threats. We can fight them

3-minute read

Mike Bowman
 |  Special to the USA TODAY Network

Cyber threats are on the rise, with small businesses facing a growing risk of data breaches and financial losses. According to Verizon’s 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report, confirmed attacks doubled from 2022, and the average data breach cost reached $4.88 million in 2024.

U.S. Small Business Administration officials want to proactively address this need nationwide, including SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman.

“The economy is increasingly digital,” Guzman said recently. “The SBA is readying its powerful network so that America’s 34 million small businesses can continue to grow while also building cyber resilience.”

The Delaware Small Business Development Center, or SBDC, is now armed with another solution to this problem thanks to the rapid growth of America’s SBDC North Star Cybersecurity Program, which is designed to empower and educate advisors and small-business entrepreneurs with essential cybersecurity skills. As part of that expansion, Delaware’s SBDC will receive a new $350,000 grant from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Cyber Prize Competition to equip business advisors with cutting-edge knowledge and resources as they guide entrepreneurs toward a more secure future.

Now hosted by the Delaware Small Business Development Center at the University of Delaware, the North Star Cybersecurity Program provides essential cybersecurity knowledge inlaid with an existing support network — SBDCs, SCORE and WBC advisors — helping entrepreneurs protect their operations and mitigate risks.

North Star has already certified 28 SBDC consultants under the 2025 version and 126 throughout 2024, with a total of 42 states or territories reached in the last two years. The North Star Cybersecurity Program, recently fortified by SBA’s Cyber Prize grant, is poised to revolutionize cybersecurity practices across industries, empowering small businesses to thrive in the digital age.

For those in the First State, this is an opportunity for Delaware’s growing cybersecurity network to solve big problems like rising cyber threats. Delaware has always been a leader in many innovative areas, and cybersecurity is no exception. Through this opportunity, Delaware SBDC saw the importance of cybersecurity early on and has been a driving force in ensuring small businesses nationwide have a fighting chance against cyberattacks.

The North Star program is at home in the high-growth, future-focused FinTech Innovation Hub on UD’s Science, Technology and Advanced Research Campus. This is one more feather in the University’s hat as a leader in workforce and economic development in the future of work.

Moving quickly into the future of technological innovation, small businesses will be challenged by cyber threats, data privacy concerns and technology that out-paces common knowledge. With well-trained advisors across the country, support from the U.S. Small Business Administration and an experienced program delivery team, the North Star program can help entrepreneurs stay safe and prepared in our evolving digital landscape.

Mike Bowman is Delaware SBDC state director.

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