NEW DATE: DEC. 17: Global CEOs Join Forces to Mitigate Crippling Cybersecurity Threats to Small and Medium-Sized Businesses; Global Initiative to Be Announced at National Press Club Headliners briefing

WASHINGTON, Dec. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- More than half of U.S. small businesses would be unprofitable within a month if they lost permanent access to essential data from a crippling cyber-attack. Despite the ominous statistics surrounding the consequences of a breach, many small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) report doing very little to protect themselves because they lack the needed resources, capabilities and knowledge to do so. As we saw with the 2013 Target breach and this year's widely-noted PageUp incident, failing to secure SMBs not only leaves those organizations at risk, but also the world's largest and most protected corporations, and, in turn, our global economy.

At 11 a.m. on Monday, December 17, 2018, the National Press Club will host a Headliners press conference featuring four presenters from the Cyber Readiness Institute (CRI) who will unveil a global initiative to provide SMBs with the tools and resources needed to improve their security postures by addressing top issues including authentication, phishing, patching and USB use. CRI convenes senior leaders of global companies?including Mastercard, Microsoft, ExxonMobil, Acer, Citi and Maersk?to ensure every business, no matter how small, is protected in today's increasingly connected society.
Presenters:

• Ajay Banga, President and CEO, Mastercard
• Valecia Maclin, General Manager Engineering, Consumer Security & Trust, Microsoft
• Samuel Palmisano, Ret. President and CEO, IBM and Current Chairman, The Center for Global Enterprise
• Kiersten Todt, Managing Director, CRI and Former Executive Director, Presidential Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity

The press conference will be held in the Bloomberg Room of the National Press Club, located at 529 14th Street, NW, 13th floor. This news conference is open to credentialed media and members of the National Press Club free of charge, however, registration is required. Please click here to register.

PRESS CONTACT:
Lindsay Underwood, (202) 662-7561, [email protected]

SOURCE National Press Club