With cyber-attacks on the rise, any business should look to invest in developing a cybersecurity program. Cyber attacks can affect any business of any size as nearly half of all small businesses in the country have experienced an attack. A potential cyber attack could cost businesses a tremendous loss of assets and money. It is estimated that a small-business cyber-attack typically costs a business between $120,000 and $1.24 million. This amount would likely destroy a small business and they would have to shut down. The loss on a larger business would be even worse. However, a cyber attack may cause more issues than just monetary loss. It can cause business disruption and downtime, loss of business or customers, loss of intellectual properties, and damage to company credibility, brand, and reputation. A cybersecurity program can help a business meet stakeholder demands and give a competitive advance. Customers like to put their vital information in a business that has a secure system. Even though a good cybersecurity program is needed, businesses sometimes don’t invest because of the cost. If the business decides to invest in a cybersecurity program there are a couple of factors that need to be discussed. A few things to consider include the industry and company size, compliance and regulation mandates affecting your business, the sensitivity of the data you collect, use, and share, and requests from company stakeholders and customers. After these factors are considered a cybersecurity company will come in and install the program on the business’s computers and other infrastructure. Once this is in, the business will need to train the employees on how to use the security program and ensure that measures are met. Then, the business will need to upkeep the security steam and update it when necessary. In conclusion, the benefits of developing a cybersecurity program significantly outweigh the costs.

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