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

Costs for a cybersecurity program vary across all industries. Costs may be determined by risk management processes, the size/type of the company, the data that is accessed by employees, and the types of virus protection software. When developing a cybersecurity program, companies should go through a risk mitigation process where they decide how much money they are willing to invest in cybersecurity and where they are going to invest it. This can help to reduce any costs from unnecessary coverage. For cybersecurity programs, the cost always outweighs compromised security of valuable assets and data. Businesses must always ensure that their systems are secure, because not doing so is bad for business. Customers like to know that their data is in safe hands. Any potential collaborators and investors also like seeing strong information security in their business partners because it shows good management, customer service, and economic thinking. In addition, there tends to be higher morale among employees of a company that addresses their security needs. This, in turn, promotes higher productivity and job satisfaction for employees.

A research study by Ponemon Institute found that $7.7 million a year is the average global loss to cyberattacks. This can be divided into internal losses and external losses. Internal losses is the sum of detection, investigation, containment, recovery, and ex-post responding costs. External losses come as a result of business disruption, damaged equipment, and revenue loss from a security breach. To avoid such consequences, businesses must ensure that their systems are safe by developing secure systems, maintaining up-to-date software, establishing a strong IT team, implementing effective policies, and training employees. Employees especially play a large role in cybersecurity programs, because every employee is responsible for ensuring the safety of computer systems and networks in the company. This includes those working in the hiring process, policy establishment, and IT training. Protection of company computer systems and networks starts during the hiring process. This involves conducting background checks that search for any odd behavior on the applicant’s social media. From there, employees should be given IT training using the company’s established cybersecurity policy, which should be written, clear, communicated, audited, and enforced.