The coronavirus pandemic forced many businesses in Maryland to rapidly transition all or most of their workforces to working from home.

But it's likely they didn't all have the experience or tools necessary to ensure an entire office could telework without exposing the company to new cyber threats.

A volunteer group of local cybersecurity experts has launched an emergency response initiative to help these companies keep their critical data safe amid the pandemic. A new program, called the Cyber SWAT Team, will allow small and mid-size companies in Maryland to share information on the kinds of cyber threats they are facing now, and consult with the experts on how to respond to a hack.

Cybersecurity Association of Maryland Inc. has been developing this initiative for a while and had planned to softly launch it this summer. But the coronavirus outbreak and the rapid increase in demand for emergency cyber assistance accelerated the timeline. Any company that experiences a cyber breach and would like some expert help can send an inquiry to the new Cyber SWAT Team "hotline" describing the problem they are facing via email or through a link on CAMI's website.

Within an hour, a member of the Cyber SWAT triage team will call to get more detailed information on the company seeking help, including its size, location and industry, as well as the kind of cyber issue they are experiencing.