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

Developing a cybersecurity program in a business is crucial for many reasons. A huge one being the safety of employees and customers. I do believe that there are more pros than cons when it comes to this topic. Starting with cons, the biggest one would be costs. If it is a small business starting out, developing a cybersecurity program might not be on their priority list like it should be. They typically just do not have the funds to create the most secure cyber program out there. However, it is better to have something rather than nothing. Creating a cybersecurity program will not happen overnight, which can be seen as another con. To develop a program, time and resources have to be dedicated to the cause. Examples include hiring employees, getting in touch with experts if possible, and most of all time to generate a plan and implement it. With all the time and resources dedicated, the benefits would far outweigh the costs. Developing a cybersecurity program will help protect a company’s assets, employee information, customer information, and any other sensitive information the company might have. Having a program in place will help train, educate, and prepare employees for threats they might face. That way when an event does take place, although challenging, they will be better prepared than if no program existed. Also, letting customers know their private information is safe and protected will help make them feel more secure and more inclined to continue business with the company. They wouldn’t want to provide credit card information, for example, to a website that is not secure. Another benefit would be making sure sensitive information is only being access by those who are authorized. This is a benefit because whatever the case may be, the business wouldn’t want a random person looking up classified information, accessing it, and/or doing something nasty with the information.