Dr. Ken Louie
Cyberattacks drain billions of dollars from the national economy every year, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. Small businesses are particularly vulnerable to these attacks, which can include malware, ransomware, and phishing.
The Economic Research Institute of Erie (ERIE), an outreach center of the Black School of Business, focused on the issue at its seventeenth ERIE Conference held at Behrend in December. The program featured security experts from Fifth Wall, Networking Technologies, Erie Federal Credit Union, and Channellock.
“Cybersecurity is not just an information technology issue, it’s a business risk issue,” said Jim Bahm, president and CEO of Networking Technologies in Erie. “No matter what size a company or organization is, they need to be concerned about cybersecurity.”
One of the biggest risks? Human error. “Eighty to 90 percent of the breaches today involve a human element,” Bahm said. “Someone clicked on a bad link or entered information somewhere they shouldn’t have.”
Presenters and faculty members from the Black School of Business and the school’s Center for Family Business discussed ways to manage business risk while connecting with local industry and academic experts.
At the conference, Dr. Ken Louie, ERIE director and associate professor of economics, also gave an update on the Erie area economy, which he summed up as “stable, but sluggish.” You can read the full report on the Erie Data website.