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

The costs and benefits of cybersecurity programs in business will vary per the size of the companies and needs. The average cost for cybersecurity is 10% of the annual IT budget; therefore is a company is spending 3 million on IT services, then $300,000 will go towards cybersecurity programs. There are several benefits in investing in cyber security such as vulnerability assessment, firewalls, two-factor authentication, email security, and many more. Vulnerability assessment helps to identify, quantify and address the security vulnerabilities that exist within your company’s infrastructure. As far as the cost, you can expect to pay $1,500 – $6,000 for a vulnerability assessment of a network with 1-3 servers and $5,000 – $10,000 for a network with 5-8 servers. Firewalls are the first line of defense between a company’s network and outside cyber-attacks. Firewalls are necessary to have because cyber attacks would happen to easily and so often at networks within a company. Firewalls come in various sizes, therefore it is important to select the necessary size that fits your company’s needs. On average, you can expect to pay $400 on the low end and up to $6,000 on the high end. The two-step factor authentication is a cheaper protection route that is effective for companies as well. The two-factor authentication is an extra layer of defense between your data and cybercriminals. This method will make users’ accounts less vulnerable with just passwords, whereas cyber criminals cannot log in without also having access to the additional authentication. The cost for two-factor authentication usually ranges between $5 – $10 per user per month. Emails are a major area of cyber attacks that is listed a high 90% with targeted cyberattacks. Email security can prevent businesses from falling victim to ransomware, spyware, trojans, social engineering, and other malware threats. Generally, businesses should expect to pay between $3 – $6 per user per month for an email protection service with the necessary advanced features to protect users.