Every business has a unique cybersecurity situation. For this reason, there truly is no simple one size fits all approach for protecting a business’s assets. Developing a cybersecurity plan in the workplace is a balancing act between budget and situation specific risks. The two factors of cyberattack risk and budgetary constraints are what will determine the overall cost and benefits of being secure.

One cost comes in the form of the actual security tools. For example, on the most basic methods of preventing a cyber event is that of a firewall, which can cost thousands of dollars to purchase the product license, installation, maintenance, and for the subscription to the service (Ganguly). Another cost could be antivirus software which is about $5 a month per user as well as a similarly priced monthly server cost (NordLayer). For a large company this could add up fast. To counter phishing attacks there are spam filters, which is a similar cost to antivirus software. A tool that boomed in usage due to the work from home trend during and after the pandemic is that of VPNs, to ensure only those authorized to reach a network from wherever they are located. Software based VPNs are usually about $10 per user, while a hardware VPN can be around $3000 (NordLayer). An intrusion detection system can be about $2000 (Ganguly). Vulnerability testing and analysis could be thousands of more dollars depending on network size.

So let’s take an example of a growing tech startup with 100 employees that would potentially have the above tools employed. Just the monthly subscriptions would be $2500 for the company. Then a good VPN and IDS is another $5000. Just the software and hardware needed to protect a business’ assets can add up quickly.

A larger business is likely to have an in house cyberteam with a range of positions. Network admins typically are paid around 60k, compliance officers are in the 70k range, and security analysts average around 90k (NordLayer). With the growing importance of cybersecurity, many of these positions are expected to earn more in the future. The cyber landscape is developing quickly, so continuous training is another monetary cost for businesses to consider.

Outside just the price tag there are other costs to a company by implementing a cybersecurity program. It is a complex task that will take time for employees to acclimate to. It also is not a one time deal to make a security program and use it forever. Every few years you could need to make changes. All of the tools needed could slow down the systems (Saxena). So productivity could be hampered by cybersecurity.

On the other hand the benefits of a cybersecurity are best viewed as not what you have to gain but what you have to lose by failing to have a proper program in place. According to NordLayer, “a quarter of companies that have experienced a cyber attack have lost between $50,000 and $99,999 in revenue” (NordLayer). The mean cost in legal fees following a breach is $13 million (NordLayer). A business also risks in reputation and credibility with both its customer base and its costumers. Such repercussions could be disastrous or even a death sentence for a company. So the main benefit is avoiding such extreme costs, while pale those of the the cybersecurity tools. A cybersecurity event can also take quite some time to recover from. During this time there is going to be a loss of revenue (Saxena). This is another problem a strong policy can prevent.

Overall, the costs of implementing a cybersecurity program can be steep, but are nothing when compared to what could happen without having one in place, so the true benefits lies in what doesn’t happen.

Works Cited:

Ganguly, Sumana. “The Cost of Cybersecurity and How to Budget for It.” DesignRush, 23 Aug. 2023, www.designrush.com/agency/cybersecurity/trends/cost-of-cybersecurity.

NordLayer. “Cost-benefit Analysis of Cybersecurity Spending.” NordLayer, 5 Jan. 2024, nordlayer.com/blog/cost-benefit-analysis-of-cybersecurity-spending.

Saxena, Ayush. “Importance of Cyber Security: Benefits and Disadvantages.” Sprinto, 11 Jan. 2024, sprinto.com/blog/importance-of-cyber-security/#What_are_the_disadvantages_of_cybersecurity.