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BUSINESS OPERATIONS N E W S 22 JANUARY 2016 | FUEL OIL NEWS | www.fueloilnews.com SURVEY: MOST SMALL BUSINESSES ARE UNPREPARED FOR CYBER CRIME A new survey by Nationwide reveals that almost eight in 10 small business own- ers (79%) do not have a cyber attack re- sponse plan, even though a majority of them (63%) have been victims of at least one type of cyber attack. The survey was commissioned by Nationwide—a small business insurer —and conducted online by Harris Poll between June 8 and June 19, 2015. It fo- cused on 500 U.S. small business owners with fewer than 300 employees, and who have at least a moderate role in employee benefit selection. According to the survey, 79% of small business owners have no cyber attack re- sponse plan in place. When asked why not, 46% said they feel their current soft- ware is secure enough, and 40% said they do not feel their company will be affected by a cyber attack. At the same time, 73% are at least somewhat concerned with a potential cyber attack affecting their business — especially since 63% of small business owners admit they have been victims of at least one of the following: • Computer virus (44%) • Phishing (30%) • Trojan horse (22%) • Hacking (16%) • Data breach (11%) • Issues due to unpatched software (10%) • Unauthorized access to customer in- formation (9%) • Unauthorized access to company in- formation (8%) For facts, tips and resources on creat- ing a cyber security plan, small business owners and their insurance agents can visit Nationwide's cyber security website. ATA OPPOSES FMCSA'S PROPOSED CERTIFICATION LABEL RULE The American Trucking Associations in August filed written comments to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Adminis- tration's rulemaking addressing missing Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards certification labels for commercial motor vehicles operated by U.S.–domiciled mo- tor carriers. ATA informed FMCSA that it ada- mantly opposes the implementation of this proposed CMV certification label rule for several reasons. First and fore- most, there is no safety benefit associated with this "mattress tag" rule, only unnec- essary administrative compliance costs. FMCSA also failed to recognize that op- erational efficiencies for drivers, carriers, and vehicles will be reduced as a result of this proposal. For example, trailer and chassis in- terchanges and interlining would be af- fected, roadside inspection time would increase, driver on duty time due to ad- ditional pre and post inspection checks would also increase, as would back-office compliance costs, ATA said. BABY BOOMER OWNERS FRET MORE THAN 'IN-CONTROL' MILLENNIALS, CHASE FOR BUSINESS SURVEY REVEALS Millennials are more likely to feel in con- trol in running their small businesses while GenX and Boomer business own- ers feel more challenges, according to findings from Chase for Business. Chase's "Survey for the Ages" quizzed Baby Boomer (ages 51-69), GenX (35- 50) and Millennial (18-34) small busi- ness owners on topics from technology and job satisfaction to digital payments, loyalty programs and banking. Here's what they said: Staying in control: Millennials are more likely to describe being a small busi- ness owner as feeling in control (35%) compared to GenX (24%) and Boomer (29%) owners. Facing challenges: GenXers (68%) and Boomers (62%) are more likely to describe being a small business owner as challenging compared to Millennials (53%). Managing debt: GenXers (30%) and Boomers (33%) are also more likely to say managing debt and expenses is one of their biggest challenges compared to 23% of Millennials. Steering growth: GenXers (69%) and Millennials (68%) see growing their business as a concern, compared to Boomers (53%). Keeping up on payment technology, loyalty and social media: Most small business owners (83%) feel the need to keep up with technol- ogy to remain competitive, of those one- quarter (73%) feel they're doing so how- ever Millennials (87%) are the largest in this group to feel this way compared to only 66% of GenX and Boomers. Staying loyal: Boomers (40%) don't find loyalty programs as essential as Mil- lennials (62%) and GenXers (64%). Many business owners realize the need to keep up with tech advancements (83%) – among them, Millennials place much more importance on social media (60%) than GenXers (44%) and Boom- ers (46%) "Small business owners of all ages know they need to keep up with technol- ogy, but they also need the tools to make the transition as simple and smooth as possible," said Laura Miller, president of Ink from Chase, the business credit card portfolio of Chase for Business. Chase for Business integrates business banking, business cards and payment processing under a single brand. The survey was fielded by Braun Re- search from July 9 through July 14, 2015. The survey reached 900 small business owners (SBOs) nationally of companies with one to 99 employees. The survey has a margin of error is +/- 3.3 percent. DISCONNECT BETWEEN RETIREES AND EMPLOYERS OVER MEDICAL BENEFITS Surveys of retirees and employers reveal a significant gap between what retirees recalled they were told about their retire- ment medical benefits before they retired and what employers believe they com- municated. While 43% of retirees sur- veyed said their employers took no steps at all to help them understand and man- age the cost of retiree medical benefits before they retired, just 9% of employers acknowledged they offered no help. The employer survey was conducted in September 2014 by professional servic-