The first step in protecting a business from cyber threats is to identify the “crown jewels” of your business – those assets and systems that are critical to your business. Crown jewels are the data without which your business would have difficulty operating and/or the information that could be a high-value target for cybercriminals.

Quick Wins

• Create a detailed inventory list of data and physical assets and update it routinely. Record the manufacturer, make, model, serial number and support information for hardware and software. For software, know the specific version that is installed and running.

• Know where data and technology are stored and who has access to both.

Additional Resources

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

• Resources for Business – Identify

• C3VP SMB Toolkit

• Cyber Resilience Review

Michigan Small Business Development Center, Small Business-Big Threat

• Small Business Cybersecurity Awareness Canvass

Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety

• Open for Business EZ Toolkit

Federal Communications Commission

• Cyber Planner

Georgia Procurement Technical Assistance Center

• Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement Cybersecurity Guidance for Government Contractors