Looking to apply for the Top-Up Grant? Round Two is open now!
Innisfil, ON – Cybersecurity start-up firm, White Tuque, and the County of Simcoe are excited to announce their partnership to support and enhance the cybersecurity of regional small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). The County of Simcoe’s In-Market Support Special Projects Fund, combined with the federal government’s Canadian Digital Adoption Plan (CDAP) program, will provide funding that will allow eligible rural-based businesses in Simcoe County to develop a cybersecurity digital adoption plan at no cost to them.
The CDAP program was launched by the federal government in March 2022 and provides up to $15,000 to Canadian owned businesses that have between 1 and 499 employees, and at least $500,000 of annual revenues but not more than $100 million in one of the three previous tax years, to adopt new technologies. White Tuque was among the first round of advisors approved to provide services under the CDAP program. Having lived in Simcoe County his entire life, White Tuque Founder and CEO Robert D. Stewart wanted to ensure White Tuque could help as many businesses in Simcoe County as possible access the CDAP program.
“This is the exact kind of initiative White Tuque was built for,” Stewart said. “This project brings together key stakeholders, leveraging the unique skillsets of White Tuque’s cyber threat assessment team, and taps into the resources available through the County of Simcoe to lead the way in protecting local businesses from sophisticated cyber threats.”
With the increasing threat of cybersecurity across Canada, the County of Simcoe recognized the opportunity to strengthen the resiliency of its economic infrastructure and help protect businesses in rural areas. “County Council is excited to provide the In-Market Support Special Project Fund to support small and medium sized businesses,” said Warden Basil Clarke. “As e-commerce and digital business activity grows, cybersecurity is key to protecting our local economy, businesses and workers. We are thankful to the federal government for supporting investment in cybersecurity, and with the County’s 10-per-cent top-up funding, we look forward to supporting our businesses.”
The development of this partnership program arose from a conversation between Stewart and Martin Kuzma, CEO of Nottawasaga Futures. Kuzma recalls, “We asked ourselves, ‘What can we do to help rural businesses across the county who may not survive the wave of cyber crime expected over the next five years?’ White Tuque was the natural choice for raising the awareness of cyber threats to our local businesses.”
Laura Payne, CNO and VP of Security Consulting at White Tuque, reiterates the team’s dedication to increasing the cybersecurity posture of SMBs in Simcoe County. “White Tuque believes in making cybersecurity accessible to businesses of all sizes, which includes ensuring the experience for our clients is seamless from start to finish,” Payne said. “The application is very straightforward, so it isn’t a barrier to participation – 15 to 20 minutes is all that’s needed to complete it. We’re excited to work with local businesses across many industries through this program.”
Businesses can apply for the Simcoe County Cybersecurity CDAP Top-Up Grant at www.WhiteTuque.com/SimcoeCounty. The deadline for the first round of applications is Tuesday, February 14, 2023. For more information on the program, visit www.WhiteTuque.com/CDAP.
About White Tuque
White Tuque’s mission is to give companies a trusted partner and a framework of best practices for cyber defence. We are a boutique team with expertise in cyber risk, cyber protection and intelligence.
Partnership with White Tuque gives all companies access to a battle-tested and crisis-proven team of Canada’s leading cyber-security experts. We make this level of protection affordable by condensing simple and repeatable tactics into a digestible and scalable format for all organizations. These tactics are the backbone of what protects businesses of all sizes, including Fortune 500 companies and financial institutions. At White Tuque our mandate is to make these available to organizations of all sizes.
To learn more about White Tuque’s services you can reach out to us at [email protected] or visit our website at https://WhiteTuque.com/.
About the County of Simcoe
County of Simcoe is composed of sixteen member municipalities and provides crucial public services to County residents in addition to providing paramedic and social services to the separated cities of Barrie and Orillia. Visit our website at simcoe.ca.
