Entry Seven

What are the costs and benefits of developing cybersecurity programs in business?

Developing a cybersecurity program in businesses incur different costs with a variety of benefits that owners must balance with the business goals. Obviously, nothing is free, and cybersecurity measures will require a portion of a company’s budget to be allocated to IT costs, part of which will have to include cybersecurity measures. These costs will include hardware, software and possibly dedicated salary for cybersecurity professionals depending on the size of the company. The personnel costs may be an employee of that company, or the business leader may choose to outsource some (or all) of the cybersecurity manpower to another company. Regardless, these are the more obvious costs to developing a cybersecurity program in businesses.

Understanding that cybersecurity programs will cost money, business leaders can help budget those funds in a manner that will best protect the company only if they understand what they are trying to protect. The cybersecurity team must create a transparent environment so business leaders who do not understand the risks to the business technology in use are informed of those risks in a manner that makes sense on their level. Understanding not all assets must be protected in the exact same manner, using a multi-level approach to security will help prioritize all assets so the level of protection can be determined for each level. The most important assets will have the most protection, the important assets will have a little less protection, all the way down the list.

One less obvious expense for developing a cybersecurity program may not carry much of a financial requirement up front, but the investment may save money in the long run. Investing in employee education about cybersecurity risks is one simple way to help prevent security incidents from occurring. Education begins at the top, so everyone from the business leader down to the newest employee must receive training to help recognize threats to help fend off simple attacks. Many security incidents occur due to simple phishing attempts, so training programs may include some practice modules that help teach employees how to spot phishing emails will help protect the company as a whole.