Cyber-Safe Incentive Program for Illinois Small to Mid-Sized Manufacturers Announced by IMEC

Peoria, IL. February 21, 2023. –

The Illinois Manufacturing Excellence Center (IMEC) has created the Cyber-Safe Incentive Program for Illinois small to mid-sized manufacturers, which was put together with the main goal of removing hurdles in funding and knowledge to improve cyber readiness for manufacturers. As a pilot program, these grants address a critical foundation for supply chain resilience, strengthening national security, protecting intellectual property, and ensuring manufacturer continuity.

“”Manufacturing has gone digital. Cyber threats are a real business risk. It is more than just having a computer virus. It is the risk of production shutdowns and hacked sensitive data,” says David Boulay, Ph.D., President of IMEC. “Implementing the process with needed components carries a price tag and we know that can be a barrier for some manufacturers to do everything they need to be safe. The Cyber-Safe Incentive Program can play a vital role in making sure they have access to the solutions they need to stay secure.”

Eligible manufacturers may be awarded up to $25,000 to reimburse documented expenditures of contractual services, infrastructure costs (software/hardware), and other approved costs directly related to cybersecurity implementation and monitoring. Approximately 50 awards will be made in this pilot program. Award amounts will be no more than 50% of the company’s documented expenditures.

Why this is important?

• Small and mid-sized manufacturers are 99% of Illinois manufacturers representing over 12,000 companies that are cornerstones of Illinois communities across the state.
• Manufacturing experienced over 23% of total cyberattacks in 2021 and 43% of cyberattacks are aimed at small businesses.1
• SMMs are lagging in their progress towards strong and mature cyber defenses. This is due to a combination of costs and know-how. It is estimated that only 14% of these businesses are prepared to defend themselves.2

Eligibility Requirements:

• The company must be primarily engaged in the manufacturing and related R&D sectors
• (NAICS codes 31-33, 541330) as validated by their Dunn & Bradstreet.
• The company must employ 5 to 250 employees.
• Funded projects must be conducted for Illinois manufacturing establishments.
• Recipients must provide evidence of a documented gap assessment related to the NIST and/or CMMC standards.

For more information on the program and to apply, please visit www.imec.org/cybersafe or email grants@imec.org.

1https://www.ibm.com/reports/threat-intelligence/
2https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/cyber-security-index

About IMEC

IMEC is a team of improvement specialists who are dedicated to changing lives and creating a positive impact on Illinois’ workforce and economy. With a mission to drive growth through enterprise excellence, they help organizations become more effective and efficient by identifying issues, developing and implementing solutions, and providing the necessary support that will allow them to excel in areas of leadership, strategy, customer engagement, operations, workforce, and measurement and results. In 2021, they assisted over 1,600 companies and help create or retain over 5,679 jobs, resulting in over $450M aggregate impact to the Illinois economy.  IMEC has seven offices statewide and 48 full-time industry improvement specialists. For more information, visit www.imec.org.

Media Contact:
Kristy Johns – Marketing Manager
Phone: 309-677-2977
Email: kjohns@imec.org