The Hidden Price Tag of Cybersecurity Failures

When we leave our homes and cars, we lock the doors. Interactive doorbells and cameras alert us to motion on our properties. Subscription services allow for monitoring and recording of front porches and backyards. If such measures aren’t in place, we risk physical and emotional loss.  

Is protecting your business different? The cost of a security breach isn’t just financial. It can impact your reputation, your recovery, and the overall morale of your business. Continuity and protection go beyond the role of one single department. Attention to cybersecurity and operational resilience is imperative from an overall business perspective.  

The Dangers Lurk

When looking into the actual cost of a security breach, it is also important to understand some of the main sources of today’s security attacks. Secureframe, a security compliance provider reported that the cost of a data breach reached an all-time high of nearly $5 million in 2024, marking a 20% increase from 2023. That cost is projected to grow at a rate of 15% annually and the main culprit? Human behavior and error is topping out at an astounding 74% of the causes of data breaches. It is also disturbing to note that 46% of breaches in 2024 exposed personal identifiable information (PII) including emails, phone numbers, and addresses.

Whether through phishing, smishing, trusted third party access, or an employee mistakenly welcoming a cyber-criminal by clicking a familiar-looking link, it is the simple, innocent actions that can create chaos in a split second.    

Underlying ways that breaches happen include:  

• Weak or stolen end-user information such as reused or simple passwords   
• Sharing credentials with multiple employees or third-party vendors  
• Permissions inappropriately assigned and managed  
• Unsuitable configurations in place  
• Undetected vulnerabilities, often due to a lack of proper change management, CMDB registry, and patch management processes  

Marketing insight guru Statista reports that in 2024, the three sectors most impacted by data breaches were: Financial Services, Healthcare, and Professional Services. And, although Healthcare saw a reduction in breach costs compared to the previous year, it has remained the most expensive sector in repairing the damages.

Sources of security breaches include:

1. Artificial Intelligence. The use of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enables the operation of everything from a doorbell to a furnace and is rapidly being integrated into vehicles. Automatic features involving machine learning such as cruise control systems and stereos are creating portals through which hacking and security threats can occur, even to the point of being able to listen in on people’s conversations as they drive.  
2. Emails and Texts. Despite valiant attempts by IT professionals to train and protect their workforce, over 94% of businesses report that they have experienced a successful phishing attack. 
3. eCommerce. Cybercrime is alive and well and lurking in the websites shopped each day. This sector has two disadvantages. Attackers only need the first six numbers of a credit card to enlist software that can generate the remaining digits, and they are eager to use eCommerce sites to test their accuracy. Also, there is little guarantee that eCommerce sites enlist the necessary tactics to thwart the influx of fraud. Shoppers are naïve to the protective measures (or lack thereof) taken by the sites they visit. 
4. Supply Chain. Supply chain cyberattacks remained a major concern in 2024, with third-party service exploitation emerging as one of the most impactful breach vectors. According to a report by Verizon, system intrusions tied to supply chain weaknesses were among the top contributors to global data breaches, underscoring the urgent need for resilient and robust vendor risk management and continuous monitoring. 

In recent years, the allure and success of Cybercrime has become a revenue-generating business, with hackers offering their services to interested participants. Called Crime-as-a-Service (CaaS), toolkits and ‘package deals’ are provided, arming others with the ability to invade and steal. Intricate codes and special skills are a thing of the past and the ability to hack is becoming somewhat of a mainstream, managed service. 

More Than a Price to Pay

Looking at the impact of security breaches only from a numbers angle gives an incomplete report card. Data breaches reach much further and impact more than a compilation of yearly stats. 

1. The overall recuperation and recovery effort needed after a breach is tremendous and extends both internally and externally. Having to rebuild the company brand requires an increase in marketing initiatives. Clients and customers need to be reassured that they can trust the business they are working with.   
2. The risk of others gaining proprietary information has competitors actively mining data at the first word of a breach. Blueprints, strategies, recipes, and other specifics can land at the fingertips of criminals and competitors, particularly during a time of weakness.  
3. While an attack is underway, a threat actor can insert changes within a website or other systems that go undetected and thus continue impact and harm the business.   
4. Legal fees come into play when a company fails to properly protect and mitigate security risks. They intensify if customers or clients impacted by the company’s breach decide to pursue a lawsuit. The potential price tag on this misstep can span from thousands to millions of dollars.  
5. Breaches can have varying effects on employees within a workforce. While some may feel vulnerable, others might experience feelings of envy towards colleagues who are compensated for working overtime to address the issue. Will personnel stick around? What will they tell their peers and business partners about the breach – and how quickly will that news spread?  
6. Implementing proper security measures following a breach is vital. It protects the future of a business while helping to restore its reputation. However, having to manage security reactively versus proactively is at a greater expense to the business.  

Questions to Ponder

Having foresight into the world of cybersecurity is key. The price of a breach – monetary and beyond, far outweighs the cost of having a defense plan in place from the start. Research has proven that cyberattacks particularly target companies that are weak in their operational resilience programs.   

Your cyber and operational resilience plans need to have answers to security questions such as:  

• What back-up processes are in place to assure multi-instance and validated data integrity?  
• How are your files secured locally, remotely, and offline?  
• How do you manage employees utilizing personal devices for work activities?  
• What are the regulatory obligations regarding compliance of sensitive information?  
• How are administrative rights and permissions for your systems managed?  

Your business has options to assist with developing its cybersecurity and operational resilience program. These options include hiring skilled staff, utilizing software, or hiring outside consultants. It is likely that you will use a mixed course of action to fit your business needs and resources.  

Enlisting a partner in this equation may prove to be a beneficial investment. Cyber partners can support and bolster existing practices, assist with due diligence, and bring experience to quickly mature the systems and practices currently in place. This helps to mitigate business risks while providing metrics, benchmarking, and project prioritization.  

Diligence Matters

Nearly 90% of cyber experts surveyed feel their organization lacks cybersecurity presence and strength. In a world where simply opening an attachment could mean disaster, businesses must be diligent. Given the risks and impacts of a cybersecurity breach, the true cost of a poorly laid plan goes beyond dollars and cents. Operational efficiency and resilience require a full-court press approach, rather than resting the responsibility on the shoulders of one single department.  

Security and resilience involve the business at each level. Recovery impacts brand reputation, customer and employee satisfaction, competitor dangers, legal and regulatory fees, and carries the possibility of permanent closure. With today’s many options, resources, and supporting data, companies have solid solutions to pursue in mitigating against cyber and resilience threats.    

Whether yours is a large corporation or a small homegrown business, the Cayuse cybersecurity team is ready to guide your business in the safest way possible. Gaining traction on a defense plan already in place or enlisting the help of experts to generate a new one, involves a strategy that requires knowledge and skill to finesse.

Let's make sure that you are doing what your business requires, to safeguard your people, processes, and systems from harm.