Local businesses prepare for cyber disasters
The Waldo Canyon fire brought issues of preparedness to light for everyone in its destructive path. For some Colorado Springs businesses it was a rude awakening for the importance of having a cyber disaster plan.
Jeff Beauprez is the President and CEO of a computer network consulting firm called Colorado Networks. Beauprez told KRDO NewsChannel 13 that his team fielded numerous calls from area businesses on the notorious Tuesday the fire came roaring down the canyon, burning nearly 350 homes and threatening area businesses.
“What do we do?” business owners asked.
“Unplug your equipment, put it in the car and go. Get out of there,” Beauprez responded.
For those businesses, it was too late for preparations. Luckily, no businesses were burned in the Waldo Canyon fire. But what about next time?
Enter the Western Cyber Exchange — a consortium of concerned businesses, IT security professionals, and Federal, State and Local Government representatives. The WCX is committed to training businesses in cyber security and becoming a hub for sharing information. The organization hopes to help all businesses prepare for cyber threats, whether it’s a natural disaster or a terrorist cyber attack.
“If a bank is attacked, they don’t want to tell anyone and the FBI’s called in, the police are called in. It becomes a crime scene so no one hears about it. So the bank down the street gets hit with the same attack when they should have had time to prepare,” said Michael Semmens, Chair of Western Cyber Exchange. Semmens says the hope is that businesses will share information about cyber attacks so that other companies in the consortium can be alert.
The Western Cyber Exchange held a kick-off launch event at the Antler’s Hilton on Tuesday in hopes of attracting the interest of area business owners. The WCX serves Colorado, Wyoming, and New Mexico and is based in Colorado Springs.
Semmens said that having the headquarters based in Colorado Springs is a strategic move. “We have a lot of federal assets we want to protect and a lot of defense-oriented businesses,” Semmens said. Colorado Springs Mayor Steve Bach spoke at the kickoff event and said he hopes Colorado Springs will be the cyber security capital of the country.
The keynote speaker at the event, Jacques Erasmus, is the Chief Information Security Officer at Webroot, an internet security provider headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado. Erasmus says WCX is an important organization for all businesses; but particularly smaller ones.
“Small businesses these days who don’t have massive budgets for internet security get affected with things like ACH fraud and wire transfer fraud,” Erasmus said.
Beauprez agrees, saying that companies that take credit cards or store personal information are particularly vulnerable. “If there’s a loss of that information that’s a huge liability,” Beauprez said. Beauprez’ company, Colorado Networks, is one of the supporting partners of the Western Cyber Exchange.
Other business owners who attended the kick-off event said they’re interested in learning more about cyber security and what their company can do to stay protected. The Waldo Canyon fire was a motivating factor for action for Doug Berwick, owner of Berwick Electric Company in Colorado Springs.
“I think it made me quite aware of how much we’ve done planning on the business level, but how little planning we’ve done on a personal level as far as protecting yourself,” Berwick said.
If you want to learn more about the Western Cyber Exchange and how your business can get involved, click here.
