Cyberattacks happen every 11 seconds.
And if your company falls victim to a data breach, it would take your IT team an average of 287 days to detect and contain it.
By that time, your business could already be losing money. In fact, in 2022, the average cost of a data breach was around $4 million.
As cyber threats grow and become more sophisticated, businesses need to take steps to safeguard their information systems while accounting for security costs.
This article explains the cost of working with cybersecurity service providers, so you can better allocate your company’s budget for protection against cyberattack risks.
Table of Contents
What is the Average Cost of Cybersecurity?
On average, consider allocating 5.6% to 20% of your total IT budget to cybersecurity. Costs may vary by industry, company size, or the specific services you use.
The cybersecurity cost can be broken down into three main components:
- Prevention includes data security software and tools used to prevent a breach.
- Detection has the tools and personnel used to detect a breach.
- Response refers to the procedures and personnel used to respond to the incident.
Why is the Cost of Cybersecurity So Expensive?
The cost of cybersecurity includes more than just purchasing the security systems and services needed to defend your company against cyberattacks.
There are four main reasons why security costs are high:
- Cybersecurity requires ongoing investment and maintenance. You can’t install a firewall once and think your business is safe. You have to monitor your system for breaches to identify and respond to issues as they happen.
- Second, the cost of security includes the price of lost business. Companies that get hacked often lose clients and have to pay fines. For example, a breach that affects patients’ health records can lead to hefty fines from the government. Your business could also be liable for fraudulent charges if a breach impacts credit card information.
- Third, businesses have to pay for cybersecurity insurance. If your company suffers a cyber breach and has insufficient protection, you could be liable for damages. Cybersecurity insurance can help cover the cost of a breach.
- Lastly, businesses often have to hire outside help if they want better protection. You may opt to hire IT professionals or outsource your team's IT services.
Why You Should Have a Cybersecurity Budget
By 2026, the cybersecurity market could be worth up to $300 billion. With this number, it's clear to understand why cybersecurity is important.
Businesses have to take security seriously and have the funds to do so. A budget is essential for any business, but especially those that rely heavily on technology.
Without a clear idea of how much you need to spend on security, you may not be able to protect your sensitive data.
At the same time, you don’t want to overspend on security and put yourself in a financial bind. You need a clear budget to plan ahead for investments in cybersecurity and other technology needs.
What Makes Up the Cost of Cybersecurity
Network Security Costs
The health of your network is critical to your cybersecurity efforts. A strong network helps you detect and respond to attacks.
That’s why you should budget for the following network security costs:
- Firewalls: Firewalls are network devices designed to block malicious traffic. You might need multiple firewalls to protect against different types of cyberattacks. Firewalls cost between $400 and $6,000 and the configuration between $450 and $2,500. You can expect to spend $1,500 and $15,000 for the product cost, installation fee, and subscription.
- Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS): Network IDS are systems that monitor network traffic and detect malicious activity. Intrusion detection and response costs roughly $2,100.
- Network Monitoring: A good network monitoring tool can tell you when something is amiss on your network. It can also help you gather data that can be used for capacity planning and network improvement initiatives. On average, monthly monitoring can cost between $100 and $500 for a small business and $500 and $2,000 for a medium-sized enterprise.
- Secure Wireless Service: If you have a wireless network, you need secure wireless service. Wireless networks are susceptible to attacks, such as man-in-the-middle attacks. A secure wireless service protects against these types of attacks.
- Data Backup and Recovery: You never know when a natural disaster or malicious attack might destroy your network equipment. Data backups ensure you don’t lose critical data when this happens. Data recovery ranges between $100 and $1,000.
- Device and Software Updates: Updates are critical to defending against cyber-attacks. They patch security holes and fix bugs that hackers exploit.
Cloud Security Costs
Cloud cybersecurity is a popular choice for businesses looking for easy scalability, high availability, and many other benefits.
However, it can also be more expensive than an on-premises solution.
If your company is considering moving its data to the cloud, consider these costs to protect against cyberattacks.
- Managed Service Provider (MSP): Every service provider charges a fee to cover the cost of managing your network. MSP costs $100 to $250 per user per month.
- Security Operations Center (SOC): A SOC team protects your cloud environment from threats. This team monitors networks, detects cyberattacks, and responds to incidents. The cost of this service varies from provider to provider, so be sure to compare. Your SOC costs might be higher in a cloud environment because cloud providers charge more for security services. On average, companies pay each full-time worker $2,700 or more.
- Legal Fees: If your business experiences a data breach, you might have to settle a class action lawsuit. The legal fees can add up quickly, so be sure to include them in your budget.
- Data Protection: Some data protection strategies to consider include encryption, data masking, and data retention policies. You can also use two-factor authentication, which adds an extra layer of security by requiring a phone or email verification code for every login attempt. A two-factor authentication can cost up to $10 monthly per user.
Help Desk Support Costs for Employees and Customers
Some cybersecurity threats will inevitably breach your network and systems.
When this happens, your employees and clients will need assistance from the help desk. They might not know how to respond to the attack, or they might need access to important information stored on a device.
Help desk support costs will vary greatly depending on the size of your business. You can also consider outsourcing help desk support services to a third-party provider.
What are the Factors that Affect Cybersecurity Costs?
Many factors determine cybersecurity costs, including the type of attacks your business faces, the strength of your system, the level of protection you need, and the type of protection you choose.
The following are a few examples of how these factors could affect your expenses.
- Type of Attacks: If your business faces a lot of automated attacks, you may have to spend more to shut them down. Similarly, if your system encounters a lot of manual attacks, you may need more robust protection to hold off against these attacks.
- System Strength: If your system is fragile, you may have to spend more to address those weaknesses and improve your system.
- Level of Protection: If you need particularly strong protection, you may need to spend more money to implement that security. Similarly, if you only need basic protection, you may spend less.
- Type of Protection: The type of protection you choose also has an impact on your security costs. For example, endpoint security costs around $45 - $1,000+ per year.
How to Budget for Cybersecurity
After you determine your business's threats and the level of protection you need, you can start budgeting for cybersecurity.
You can use the following steps to stay on track with your budget and protect your company.
- Start with an IT Audit: Before you can budget for cybersecurity, you first have to understand the current state of your system. You can do this through an IT audit, which involves testing your systems to find any vulnerabilities and gaps in security. A vulnerability assessment usually costs between $1,500 - $6,000 for a network with up to three servers and $5,000 - $10,000 for a network with up to eight servers.
- Choose a Security Solution: After you understand your current state, you can choose a security solution that addresses your challenges. You can also consider other solutions that offer protection against the biggest threats facing your business.
- Create a Financial Plan: Once you have a general idea of the costs of your security solution, you can create a financial plan for the investment. Use the financial plan to forecast expenses and determine how much funding you need for security.
- Keep Up with Maintenance: Make a maintenance plan for your cybersecurity investments. Regularly test your system for issues and ensure it is operating at peak performance. With proper maintenance, you can avoid costly repairs and replacements and keep your system running smoothly.
Best Cybersecurity Agencies to Hire
1. AG Grace, Inc.
- Location: 5257 Buckeystown Pike Suite 206, Frederick, Maryland 21704, United States
- Average Hourly Rate: $95
- Expertise: Software Development, Cybersecurity, Cloud Consulting, Back Office Outsourcing, IT Services...
AG GRACE Inc. is a Computer Network Operations and Computer Network Defense company specializing in Active Cyber Defensive Security Solutions, Information Assurance, Risk Management, including Network Information Audit & Support Services, and Security Education & Training. We implement solutions that provide quick response capability, Adaptive Defense and real time monitoring to discover, detect, analyze and mitigate threats and reduce vulnerabilities.
Cost of Cybersecurity: Final Words
Cybersecurity often comes with a hefty price tag that can quickly drain a company's budget.
No matter the size or scope of your company, it's always in your best interest to allocate money toward security on an ongoing basis so that you can mitigate risk as much as possible.
Luckily, there are ways to keep costs under control. The best way to protect your company from data breaches is to implement best practices and use a combination of cybersecurity tools.
