Solutions for Small Business, a coalition of top cable providers, announced Wednesday plans for a webcast that will advise small business owners on how to best protect themselves from malicious emails, cyber attacks and data theft.

"Hackers and cyber criminals are now focusing more of their unwanted attention on less secure small businesses," said Rich Kessel, a senior information security analyst. "Therefore, it is important that each small business appropriately secure their information, systems and networks."

Earlier this year, President Barack Obama warned of the growing threat that digital copyright piracy and information theft poses to the U.S. and the rest of the world, claiming it to be “one of the most serious economic and national security challenges we face as a nation."

Despite increasing public awareness, research from the National Cyber Security Alliance found that only 28 percent of small businesses maintain formal internet or intellectual property security policies, while close to 60 percent of small businesses claim to rely on the internet for day-to-day operations.

The initiative by Solutions for Small Business is one of many programs being launched by companies and organizations as part of National Cyber Security Awareness Month.

The webcast, which will be sponsored by Bloomberg Television, will air October 28th at 2:00 p.m.