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

The cost and benefits of developing a cybersecurity program for a business depends on the business. The business must figure out if the cost is going to be worth the benefits. For some clean up might be cheaper than prevention. The company must use a cost-benefit analysis. Investing in preventative measures comes at a cost.

Assume a company has a history of attack once every 3 years and on average the clean-up of the attack has cost the company 300 thousand dollars. If the company is able to find a system or program with the preventive measure only costing 80 thousand a year, the cost is greatly justified to save the company 220 thousand dollars every three years.

Assume another company has a history of attack once every 5 years that on average has cost them 15 thousand to clean up. It would be unreasonable for that company to invest in preventative measures that would cost them 80 thousand dollars a year. It would them be cheaper for the company to take the risk and only pay for clean up as needed.

Cyber security training in the biggest investment companies can make when it comes to cost versus benefit. Educating works on the importance of cyber security can greatly reduce the need for preventive software thus reducing the cost and always maintaining a benefits as long as the workers adhere.