July 24, 2026

Is Your Firearm Retail Business Prepared for a Cyber Outage?

Now Available On-Demand: Crisis Management & Incident Response for Firearm Retailers

If a storm knocks out your power, a burglary damages your storefront or a local emergency threatens your shop, you likely already have a plan in place. As a firearm retailer, you know exactly how to protect your inventory, secure your physical premises and get back to business safely.

But what is your move when a ransomware attack locks your point-of-sale (POS) systems or your digital payment network goes dark on a busy Saturday afternoon?

A digital outage shuts your doors just as effectively as a physical padlock, yet many Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) do not have a practical disaster recovery plan to handle a cyber crisis.

Bridging the Gap Between Physical Security and Cyber Resilience

Physical security has always been a top priority for the firearm industry. NSSF has spent years helping FFLs harden their storefronts against theft through Operation Secure Store®, while keeping them legally secure with initiatives like Don’t Lie for the Other Guy™ to detect and prevent illegal straw purchases.

However, as retail operations increasingly rely on digital networks — from cloud-based inventory tracking and digital bound books to online payment processing — cyber resilience has become just as critical to everyday business survival as a physical lock.

To help firearm retailers bridge this gap, NSSF, as part of its Project CyberSafe™ initiative, partnered with Fellsway Group to host an interactive 60-minute roundtable discussion, “Advancing Cyber Resilience: Crisis Management & Incident Response for Firearm Retailers.”

Watch the recording here

What the 2025 CMIR Survey Tells Us

This virtual session draws heavily on insights from the 2025 State of Crisis Management & Incident Response (CMIR) Survey (NSSF members can login to the member portal to order a free CMIR Survey report from the NSSF Store).

The data highlights a growing reality: cyber threats are no longer just an “IT problem.” They are operational threats that can disrupt transaction flow, put sensitive customer data at risk and threaten strict FFL compliance.

In this recorded discussion, you’ll hear directly from industry peers who manage these exact operational risks every day. Session host Steve Leventhal, CEO of The Fellsway Group, is joined by Russell Rhodes, President and CEO of Neuse Sport Shop and Brian Sisson, Owner and COO of The Range Companies, to share firsthand perspectives and practical advice.

Operational Strategies Covered in the Webinar:

• When Screens Go Blank: What veteran retailers prioritize first to keep compliance from slipping during a sudden system outage.
• Testing Your Readiness: How our guests use “digital fire drills” to ensure their teams are prepared to pivot when technology fails.
• The Manual Game Plan: Practical workarounds to keep transactions and operations moving when the main system goes completely offline.

Recommended Guides & Resources

To help your team build on the concepts discussed in the webinar, explore these official NSSF and Fellsway Group tools:

• FFL Cybersecurity “Top 10 Steps” Resource Guide — A guide to help strengthen incident response capabilities, including security baselines, employee training protocols and more.
• Crisis Management & Incident Response Playbook — An operational, step-by-step framework for triaging cyber incidents without disrupting compliance.
• Project CyberSafe Roadmap to Success — A step-by-step framework to evaluate your business’s current cybersecurity posture and identify key operational vulnerabilities.
• Project CyberSafe Resources Hub — A central repository of quarterly newsletters, security bulletins and practical operational tips for your team.

For additional checklists, security tips and program updates, explore NSSF’s Project CyberSafe hub.

Watch the Recording Today

Whether you operate a small local gun shop or a multi-state retail and range facility, building a practical cybersecurity framework is essential to protecting your livelihood, your customers and your compliance record.

Don’t wait for an outage to realize you need a backup plan.

Advancing Cyber Resilience: Crisis Management & Incident Response for Firearm Retailers

WATCH NOW