How A Cyber Attack Can Cost Your Company Money

How A Cyber Attack Can Cost Your Company Money

2016 was a record year for data breaches. 

There were 1,093 data breaches in the United States in 2016. That's a 40% increase from the year before.

And spending is up in security related software, services, and hardware. 

"But that wasn't you," you say. "I've got the best cyber security in town."

That may be true. But it doesn't mean it can't happen to you. 

Some of the largest companies in the world with deep pockets for world class security have experienced cyber attacks. 

And you don't think it could happen to you?

Today we're going to look at how a cyber attack could affect your company today.

What Kinds Of Costs Are Involved In A Cyber Attack?

After a cyber attack, there are monetary costs, of course, to a business. And this can be the main focus.

There are indirect and direct monetary costs that could occur. And some of these costs might be hidden from you at the outset.

Direct Costs

Once a data breach happens, there are legal consequences. You will need to hire a lawyer if you don't have one to mitigate the legal repercussions.

You will have to shore up the breach and hire more IT professionals to do so.

You might need other consultants and even a physical security team if the breach happened because of a physical breach of property.

You will have the direct cost of lost customers due to personal information being stolen or the cost of reimbursing customers for the cost of damage done through malware.

The cost of downtime could go up to $300k per hour or $5,600 per minute if you have a large enough clientele.

Indirect Costs

There might be some indirect costs after a cyber attack.

You might have some additional training to do with employees, which means overtime or lost productivity.

You will probably have to fire and hire security personnel depending on the situation.

And you will have to upgrade security systems, of course.

Some Costs Aren't Monetary

The trust people had in your company may be damaged. Some customers may not stay with you. 

Once that trust is broken, it will take time and lots of positive experiences to repair the damage.

Some payment companies such as credit cards may refuse to work with you if the breach affected their customers.

This will remove payment options for your customers and you may lose customers in this way as well.

You Are Not Immune, Small Business Owners

It's well known that small fish are easier to catch.

And if you think about it, being able to quickly snap up thousands of small bits of information could actually be more profitable for a criminal than spending the money and time and effort to hack a large corporation.

Plus, they are probably more likely to be caught if they attack a large company with better security.

In fact, attack 1000 small businesses and you've got the $300,000 of a large corporation breach.

That's $38,000 on average that an attacker makes in a small business data breach.

So, if you want to know more about stopping cyber attacks before they happen, reach out and talk to us. We're here to help.