A cyber security program includes two main costs. The costs associated with the actual implementation monetarily speaking and the cost of not implementing a cybersecurity program. We will focus on the later because the monetary cost of not implementing vs. implementing vastly exceeds the implementation. Costs of not having a program in place include loss of data, theft of intellectual property, possible business closure, normal operations halted, revenue loss, trust from customers, and time to name a few of the costs associated with not having a cybersecurity program. All these losses equate to a business’s bottom line in the end. The program doesn’t have to be expensive. Of course, this is relative considering the size of the business. The NIST cybersecurity framework provides an adaptive/scalable tool to business who want guidelines on implementing a cybersecurity program.

The benefits of a cybersecurity program outweigh the costs of not having a cybersecurity program. Businesses who implement a cybersecurity program show good business skills, management, and future thinking. Consumers need to know that when they patronize a business, their information will be safe. Having a good cybersecurity program can help build this trust between business and consumer. Trust is foundational to building a successful business. The program has other benefits not directly related to money but lead to money. Morale, safety, self-worth, self-actualization, and peace of mind are all attributes of a good cybersecurity program in terms of the employee. If your employees have their needs meet in a work environment, they will in turn increase the overall success of the business. Companies with a good cybersecurity program will be able to respond when an event happens, because as part of a program is the training aspect. They train for events that might happen and figure out how to mitigate the loss of eventual cyberattacks.