To help small business owners protect their online identity, the SBA said it has created a new course that provides an overview on how to secure business information, identify security threats and guard against cyber-attacks. 

The free course will help to identify information security vulnerabilities that can put a small business at risk, and the protective tools and techniques used to measure, maintain and guard business information and systems, according to the SBA.

Small business owners will also learn the types of information that should be secured, how to protect themselves from intentional attacks or unintentional damage, guard themselves from decreased productivity caused by security breaches, and evaluate the needed security tools and techniques.

The SBA said the course is self-paced and also offers best practices for guarding against cyber threats, potential computer weaknesses and the corrective actions for risk management.

The course is available online on the SBA's website.

The protection of sensitive data such as business invoices, payroll records, client and employee data and other proprietary information is essential to a company's success, the SBA said.

A computer failure or other system breach could undermine a company's reputation, expose it to costly recovery expenses, and disrupt the business' overall operation, according to the agency.