Cybersecurity and economics have a close-knit relationship with each other. Cybersecurity can prevent substantial losses and ultimately promote economic growth. Economics is an essential aspect of cybersecurity because it helps with security investments, risk management, and cost-benefit analysis. Certain organizations rely on economics to determine how much to invest in cybersecurity in order to keep their assets adequately protected. Economics can also help organizations curate strong frameworks to manage any potential cyber threats toward them efficiently. This allows organizations to allocate their resources accordingly; that way, they get the best possible protection at a reasonable cost. Unfortunately, cybersecurity isn’t perfect, and cyber-attacks are able to seriously damage the economy, resulting in significant financial losses. For example, President Obama estimated the economic impact of cyber attacks in the U.S. to be a trillion dollars annually in 2009. Economics can also play a role in inciting cyber criminals to target organizations. This is because the more money and sensitive data an organization holds, the greater the risk of cybercriminals wanting to take those assets for themselves.
References:
The Economics of Cybersecurity
The Economics of Cybersecurity: A Practical Framework for Cybersecurity Investment