How can you fund and resource your cybersecurity program?

I'd like to point out that understanding your unique cybersecurity risks is paramount. Analyze potential threats specific to your industry and the scale of your digital footprint. Remember, robust cybersecurity isn't just about technology; it's about creating a culture of security awareness among all employees.

Quantifying cybersecurity involves assessing the costs of solutions like firewalls, anti-malware tools, employee training programs, and insurance. Factor in the potential costs of data breaches, including regulatory fines and reputational damage, to understand the full financial impact.

Funding cybersecurity can be approached through a combination of budget reallocation, operational savings, and external financing. Exploring grants or dedicated cybersecurity investment funds can also provide financial support, especially for critical infrastructure sectors.

To get funding, your best bet would be to have a business case that shows your proposal makes sense moneywise. It saves more company money that it consumes. Thus, you need in theory, amount of cybersecurity that pays itself while making vain the bad actor’s efforts. Businesses hardly fund cybersecurity for the sake of itself, but for the benefit that they get out of it. In reality, with cybersecurity there’s rarely known odds what would be the probability of the breach over a given time. And yes, this is a common challenge. But one solution is to use instead of accurate numbers magnitude figures, and maybe it is better than no figures at all. FAIR institute publishes methods for quantitative information risk assessment.

One of most effective ways I have seen this done (and seen the ROI) is to bring people from other business units into the security team, they have the institutional IP and understand the risks. This also doubles up as a talent retention for the organisation.

Allocate your cybersecurity budget based on risk assessment. Prioritize resources for the most critical areas first, such as securing customer data and maintaining essential operational technology. Implement regular reviews to ensure resources are used effectively and adjust as risks evolve.

Ensure to overlay existing risks with investments. How would it change with increasing or moving investments around. Conversations become factual and easier to navigate.

Reallocate existing resources, outsource certain functions to specialized firms, and implement the program in phases can be effective strategies to manage costs and build a robust cybersecurity infrastructure.

When planning your cybersecurity program, consider the integration of AI and Machine Learning for threat detection, the importance of regular audits, and compliance with global data protection regulations. It's also crucial to have an incident response plan in place, ensuring your team is prepared to act swiftly in case of a security breach.