The federal government will launch five projects to increase the cyber resilience of Belgian SMEs. In addition, there will also be a website and an awareness campaign to raise awareness.

Telecommunications Minister Petra De Sutter (Greens) and Independent Minister David Clarinval (MR) are leading the initiative. A piggy bank of 12 million euros will be invested in five projects to strengthen the cyber resilience of SMEs, but also in a website and an awareness campaign on the risks of cyber attacks.

A nudge in the back

According to both ministers, it is important to give SMEs a helping hand. They don’t always have the knowledge and resources to develop an effective security strategy. As a result, more than one in five Belgian SMEs has already been the victim of a cyber attack, and at least half are at acute risk of losing valuable data. “The consequences of such an attack can be severe. “That applies financially, but also to the loss of customer confidence,” Minister De Sutter told Belga.

De Sutter’s statement is supported by a study by Sharp Benelux, which we reported on last week. Belgian SMEs are willing to invest in IT but do not always know how and in what to invest, the study shows. As a result, the so-called Cyber ​​Essentials grossly overlooked. This category includes basic cybersecurity elements, including a recovery plan, security configuration, and anti-malware protection.