NRA Releases “Cybersecurity 101” Guide for Restaurants, Hosts Webinar and Forms Member Working Group
The National Restaurant Association today announced the release of “Cybersecurity 101: A Toolkit for Restaurant Operators.” The free guide, available at Restaurant.org/Cybersecurity, is available for restaurant operators interested in learning the basics of how to implement an enterprise-wide cybersecurity program to protect their restaurant from data breaches.
“The digital age is transforming the way restaurants do business. Innovations in technology have only just begun to help restaurateurs streamline operations, reduce their costs and bring more guests into their restaurants,” said Laura Chadwick, Director of Commerce and Entrepreneurship for the National Restaurant Association. “With opportunity comes risk. As we’ve seen in breaches recently, hackers are hungry for more than just payment card data; they can target all aspects of a restaurant’s business. To help restaurants face these growing cybersecurity risks, the National Restaurant Association has developed resources for restaurateurs to help them protect their entire operation through an enterprise-wide program.”
The guide details the impact that a data breach can have on restaurants – ranging from fines from credit card companies to legal and regulatory actions. In the forefront is action-oriented information about the five key elements of an enterprise-wide cybersecurity program, based on the National Institute for Standard & Technology’s Framework for Improving Cybersecurity in Critical Infrastructure (“NIST Framework”):
- identifying cyber risks;
- protecting against cyber risks;
- setting up procedures to detect a cyber-incident;
- responding to a cyber-incident; and
- recovering from a breach.
In addition to the Cybersecurity 101 guide, the NRA has convened a working group of member companies to formulate a detailed Cybersecurity Framework for the Restaurant Industry (CFRI) based on the NIST Framework. The group will be working on specific standards, guidelines and best practices for enterprise-wide cybersecurity with some of the nation’s leading restaurant companies.
NRA has formed an alliance with R-CISC, the Retail Cyber Information Sharing Center, as well. R-CISC houses the Retail Information Sharing & Analysis Center (ISAC), which functions as a peer to peer forum for retailers to share threat information and leading practices and to enhance the security of the retail industry’s networks and protect consumer data.
“The R-CISC is very excited to be working with the National Restaurant Association to highlight the importance of cyber risk intelligence sharing in protecting consumers and their information,” said Brian Engle, Executive Director of the R-CISC.
Visit Restaurant.org/Cybersecurity for ongoing information.
