The Expert Podcast

Well, how much would a cyber attack cost? It can't be that bad, right? If you're a business owner and you don't have cybersecurity built in or a cyber insurance policy, you might be thinking, “Well, a cyber attack is not going to cost me that much money, right? It doesn't really steal anything, it doesn't break anything, it doesn't burn anything down.”

Well, maybe not. Here is an article from CNET from the end of July 2022 — the typical data breach costs $4.4 million. Now, this is for a larger company, but it doesn't change the fact that data breaches and cyber attacks and ransomware have actual costs for a company.

You can look at the typical expense for your type of company and your size, and you'll find that these data breaches are not cheap. They can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars easily, at the bare minimum. And a single breach sometimes can put you out of business.

If you don't have access to your accounts receivable where you can collect money, if your systems are down and not able to process sales even for four or five days — not only do you lose those sales, but you lose the sales momentum.

Some of your customers may go somewhere else. Some of your employees may have a lack of confidence and they may leave. Or even if they stay, they may not be as committed. So data breaches can be a deal breaker for a company.

You want to be aware of the actual cost, and whether you prevent it by cybersecurity or cyber insurance, it's important to factor in reality to your business risk evaluation.