Last updated on November 10th, 2015 at 04:16 pm
The National Restaurant Association (NRA) has released “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 cyber security program to protect their restaurants 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 NRA. “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 cyber security 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 cyber security program, based on the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s framework for improving cyber security in critical infrastructure.
These five elements include: 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.
The NRA also has convened a working group of member companies to formulate a detailed cyber security framework for the restaurant industry. The group will work on specific standards, guidelines and best practices for enterprise-wide cyber security with some of the nation’s leading restaurant companies.
