Even though this is just a sample breach letter, it still shows how real cybersecurity situations connect to both economics and psychology. From the economics side, the rational choice theory fits the attackers. They didn’t just randomly hit a system. They chose a platform that gave them access to customer payment data over a long period. That kind of move is based on what they could gain and how likely they were to get caught.

Cost-benefit analysis also shows up in how the company handled the situation. They waited to notify customers because law enforcement asked them to. While that probably helped the investigation, but it also meant customers were left unaware for months. The company had to weigh the cost of waiting against the risk of losing customer trust and possibly facing legal trouble.

On the psychology side, risk perception theory helps explain how customers might react. Even though the letter says there’s no proof of misuse, people still feel uneasy when their personal info is exposed, and naturally so. It’s not just about what happened, it is also about how serious it feels. Social trust theory also fits here. Customers trusted the company to protect their data, and that trust was broken. Fixing that takes more than just removing malware. It takes clear communication and rebuilding confidence which takes time.

This is an interesting sample letter that allowed me to analyze and view things from an economic and psychological standpoint. This exercise further reinforced how cybersecurity is shaped by human decisions, economic pressure, and how people respond when things go wrong.