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

Costs: When developing a business it is important to understand that the cyber landscape will continue to change as technology continues to develop. With this, the amount of cyber threats will undoubtedly increase. So, the costs spent developing a cybersecurity program is worth it to protect the company.

• Financial – When creating a cybersecurity program for your business capital will always be needed. There are numerous components in developing a standard cybersecurity program for is costly itself but depending on the type of business extra efforts may need to be taken to cover potential vulnerabilities. For example, the security measures between a family-owned bakery and target would be vastly different. With this, the personnel needed to maintain this program would also be different. A smaller store may not need the same amount of skilled cybersecurity professionals as a company may need, meaning as the business grows the expenditure on professionals will as well.
• Effort – As mentioned, the amount of threats within the cyber space is always growing and to be protected from them a considerable amount of effort is needed. Cyber threats can occur at any so cyber professionals have to continuously monitor for them and update the cybersecurity program if needed.
• Team members- If a company were to go from not having a cybersecurity program to having one, the people it may most directly impact is the employees. People are resistant to change so implementing this program may be met with resistance at first.

Benefits: While it may seem that implementing a cybersecurity program like a hassle the rewards are well worth it.

• Security – The most important aspect of implementing cybersecurity program is the security that it gives you. If an e-commerce company were to open the main thing that should focus on is protecting the information of the online customers. Let’s say another e-commerce company were to open but the effort wasn’t taken to protect online shoppers. Not only are they more susceptible to cyber threats but also the legal ramifications if data were to be accessed during a threat.
• Reputability – Continuing off of the example given, when customers engage with businesses they want to make sure that there data is protected. Another thing they also like is convenience. When a successful transaction occurs the customer would be more inclined to return, especially knowing that the company prioritizes their safety.