Cybersecurity is too costly to ignore
A major challenge that limits businesses’ efforts in securing their products and services is the same issue as that of many other efforts: cost. As we reap IoT’s benefits of reducing expensive, inefficient, and often hazardous labour overhead, the same drive for efficiency also constrains the development of IoT products, which is often positioned as a low-cost and low-maintenance solution. Between the drive for low-cost yet feature-rich products, cybersecurity often takes a backseat since it is hard to perceive an immediate and explicit customer value.
However, cyber incidents have become extremely costly across all industries. According to research published by IBM, an average data breach costs 3.9 million USD for a business in 2020. Critical industries suffer even higher losses, with the healthcare industry leading the pack with an average cost of 7.1 million USD and the energy sector being a close second at 6.39 million USD. Given the widely accepted perception that attacks “are only a matter of time,” the disturbing question we must ask ourselves is whether businesses that do not prepare themselves are ready to pay for such a cost when the day comes.
Despite daunting statistics, we believe that cybersecurity efforts should not thrive on fear, uncertainty, and doubt. Instead, similar to the digitalisation journey itself, businesses should address the problem of cost with three fresh mindsets for a more long-term security posture.