Phish Fight: How LSU Cyber Clinic Helped One Small Business Defend Itself

When Denham Springs-based Permanent Coatings wanted to strengthen its cyber defenses, the family-owned industrial paint maker turned to the LSU Cyber Clinic. The clinic is a collaboration between the university and the Louisiana Small Business Development Center (LSBDC).

The clinic and LSBDC offer workshops to educate business owners and workers about potential threats, risks and the consequences of common security threats.

“The biggest thing for us was just learning the basics, establishing a cyber security posture,” said Lucas “Luke” Dwinell-Janopaul, Permanent Coatings’ manager of operations and R&D. “We’ve been pretty low-tech for a long time. We just got our website a couple of years ago, so the seminars have been really helpful to explain the risks.”

The biggest threat for the paint and coatings maker is the same one that every small business faces: social engineering. Cyber criminals manipulate people into revealing private information, spreading malware, or even sending payments to fraudulent accounts. Artificial intelligence has allowed criminals to automate these attacks.

“We’ve had a couple of encounters that we’ve been able to negate,” Dwinell-Janopaul said. “The attacks happen way more often than I would like to admit. We haven’t fallen for them but knowing what to look for is helping.”

Small businesses often fail to make cybersecurity a priority, thinking think their companies are too minor to be targeted by hackers. Cyber criminals love this attitude. It’s why so many of them focus on small firms.

“The LSU Cyber Clinic seminars are a game-changer for small businesses. They provide practical, real-world strategies to help our local entrepreneurs protect their digital assets and stay resilient in an increasingly connected world," said Adam McCloskey, director of the Louisiana Small Business Development Center at LSU.

Dwinell-Janopaul began attending the Cyber Clinic workshops a little more than a year ago. After attending a few, he asked for a Cyber Clinic consultation.

In addition to taking steps to protect Permanent Coatings from social engineering attacks, the Cyber Clinic recommended changes to file backup practices and securing its ports – the physical docking points where users connect other devices to their computers and the software through which data flows.

Permanent Coatings had its Information Technology team address those issues.

“I think the biggest part has just been the knowledge that the Cyber Clinic has given us, which is half the battle when it comes to cybersecurity,” Dwinell-Janopaul said.

That’s why he attends every LSU Cyber Clinic workshop he can.

“Anyone associated with a business should go to at least one of these seminars. They cover so many topics,” Dwinell-Janopaul said. “Things you don’t think about, like why it’s so important to update your browsers or ways to make your passwords more secure. Stuff that’s really low-cost but makes a huge difference.”

"At the LSU Cybersecurity Clinic, our mission is to empower small businesses with the knowledge, tools, and strategies they need to strengthen their cybersecurity posture and hygiene. We are proud to have worked with Permanent Coatings and are especially pleased that our comprehensive assessment and seminars have provided meaningful insights and practical steps for enhancing their knowledge and resilience. This kind of impact is why the clinic exists - to bridge academic expertise with real-world solutions that serve our community,” said LSU Cybersecurity Clinic Director Aisha Ali-Gombe.

To learn more about the Cyber Clinic workshops and other LSBDC training, click here.