Security incidents aren’t just embarrassing: they’re expensive. A survey of IT professionals by security software developer Kaspersky Labs suggests that the average cost of a security breach is around $US50,000 in small and medium companies. In large organisations, that figure was even higher: $US649,000.
The study calculated the numbers based on a survey of 2895 IT professionals across the globe, including 109 Australians. (That gives us a larger than expected chunk of the total; the US was represented in 176 interviews, despite having more than 10 times our population.)
The chart above shows the costs associated with breaches, which go well beyond simply patching and retrieving data. The lesson? If your manager asks why money needs to be spent on IT security, point to the alternative.
Comments
One response to “Average Cost For A Security Breach: $50,000”
Please define “small” “large” and “ongoing” costs. Is $50,000 small or large? Doesn’t that depend on the size of the company?
Are those the costs to have security at that level, or the costs if you have a breach at that level?