CYBER COSTS

The Misery of Cyber Recovery

In a recent article by news.com.au June 24, 2019 “Artificial Intelligence and Biometric scans will help stop future fraud” new research has found the cost of cybercrime is surging, with businesses often losing more than $100,000 from each incident.

On June 11 an article posted in acs Information Age June 11, 2019 “Australian cybercrime surge costs millions” reported Cybercrime cost Australian companies $US6.9 million in 2018 – a rise of 26 per cent since 2017.

The above figure of $276,323 quoted as the average cost to a small business in Australia by StaySmartOnline.gov.au was posted in the image above as a 2014 average!!!

So, you might be wondering how on earth a cyber attack on your small business could be that large?

Let’s breakdown the costs of misery of what happens when you suffer a cyber attack as there are the obvious direct costs, then there are the indirect costs:

DIRECT COSTS OF CYBER RECOVERY

1. CYBER SECURITY SPECIALISTS ENGAGEMENT COSTS

Engaging A Cyber Security Specialist has been reported as 53% of the total cost of the average $276,323.
This cost is spent on having a cyber security specialist to first detect the problem and secondly recover from it.

 

 

 

That is a BIG price to pay for not adequately being protected in the first place.

2. RANSOMWARE COSTS

We have had many cases of this and the average price we have encountered over the past 12 months has ben $2000.

Whilst I as your Cyber Security Specialist, advocate you DO NOT pay as you are just training the dragon to bite you again, on one occasion we had to negotiate with a hacker the amount down with little success.

 

 

Add this to your direct bill.

3. DOWNTIME THAT REDUCES YOUR BILLABLE HOURS

You MUST pay any staff wages whether they are able to work or not on a contract that was not their fault but yours.

Every hour you are down, trying to retrieve, access files, unencrypt files, put a cyber defence plan in place, deal with the report for cyber insurance payout is a direct cost to your bottom line.

 

 

Hours wasted that could have been billable.

4. FINES FOR DATA BREACH

I am sorry to break the news, but our Government is getting real.

Don’t protect yourself and end up on the end of a cyber attack and not have protection in place?

Breach Australian Data breach Laws introduced into 2018 which demand mandatory reporting and your risk a fine of up to a penalty of 10% of your business turnover.

 

OUCH!
If this is not enough to wake you up to get protection, there are the indirect costs.

INDIRECT COSTS

None of the following can you put a price on including damage to your health (mental and physical), reputation (both business and personal), business brand that causes staff, customers and suppliers to leave and the time to re-establish and hire , financial loss, family breakdown, loss of contracts must I continue?

Now you tell me.

How expensive does $199 to get started on a health check sound to get started which is fully tax deductible.