Micro-Enterprise Security
The digital information age continues to provide many opportunities for businesses, especially for micro-enterprises. However, the further development of information and communication technologies (ICT), and their adoption by users, still comes with vulnerabilities. In fact, micro-enterprises have been identified as one of the weakest links in information security, despite the increasing demand for their services as suppliers and sub-contractors in the value chains of larger companies.
Micro-enterprises may thus find themselves losing business opportunities. With micro-enterprises being a major economic backbone and chief provider of jobs in many EU Member States, this may severely damage the competitiveness and innovative capability of the European economy. Changing the information security behaviour of micro-enterprises must therefore be one of the main objectives of government policy. Several EU Member States have already implemented programmes aimed at changing the information security practices of micro-enterprises. However, others still have a need for knowledge, information and support in this field. Since 2008, ENISA has initiated a number of activities in pursuit of this aim.
Ad hoc Working Group on Analysing Micro Enterprises’ Needs and Expectations in the Area of Information Security
In 2008, ENISA set up an Ad Hoc Working Group (WG) to analyse micro-enterprises’ and their multipliers’ needs and expectations in the area of information security. The group was composed by eight experts representing different stakeholders. The activities and the mandate of the group are laid in this document.
The WG, in its final report and recommendations, confirmed that associations and EU Member States are increasingly interested in fostering a culture of Network and Information Security (NIS) amongst micro-enterprises. However, co-ordinated exchange of information and good practice is lacking.
Building Information Confidence in the Area of Micro-Enterprises through Capacity Building and Enhanced Co-operation with Multipliers
ENISA is well positioned to engage relevant multiplier organisations from EU Member States with the aim of increasing knowledge and information on how to build capacity among their micro-enterprise constituency, and thus to support the establishment of concrete peer-to-peer learning practices in the area. ENISA's Work Programme 2009, under the Multi-Annual Thematic Programme 2 “Developing and Maintaining Co-operation Models” Work Package (WPK 2.4), aims to develop a toolkit for “Building Information Confidence in the Area of Micro-Enterprises through Capacity Building and Enhanced Co-operation with Multipliers”.
In order to enhance capacity-building amongst the micro-enterprise constituency, ENISA launched a Call for Proposals to develop the security toolkit for intermediaries and/ or multiplier organisations, to validate it by deploying the result with one selected organisation, and to draft a report on lessons learned. The overall objective is to increase knowledge and competence on how to build Network and Information Security (NIS) capacity among both micro-enterprise intermediaries and/ or multiplier organisations and their constituency/ members, through tailoring existing ENISA deliverables in the area of Risk Assessment/ Risk Management (RA/RM) and Awareness Raising (AR).
This is an ongoing activity. More information will be available in this page as we progress.
Contact us
If you would like more information please contact the ENISA Stakeholder Relations team.
