The cost to secure your small- to medium-sized business (SMB) with cybersecurity measures varies based on several factors. In this article, you’ll discover expert insights on the expected cybersecurity costs for small businesses and the financial impact of cyberattacks.
With the rise of cyberattacks over the past few years, there’s no better time to review the cost of cyber security. Let’s take a look.
Learn the financial impact of cyber threats on your business’s data. Plus, unlock the financial implications of in-house vs. outsourced cybersecurity.
Table of Contents
The Growing Cyber Threat Landscape
Why SMBs Are Prime Targets
SMBs are appealing targets for hackers. They see your organization as weak and having less sophisticated security infrastructure. Unfortunately, that perception is frequently accurate.
Confidence vs. Reality
While 85% of SMB leaders say they’re prepared for cyberattacks, 73% reported being hit in 2023. This disconnect between confidence and true readiness is putting businesses at serious risk.
What Does "Prepared" Really Mean?
The gap between perceived and actual readiness raises a critical question:
What does “prepared” really mean in the face of today’s fast-moving, sophisticated cyber threats?
Unfortunately for many SMBs, it means not following cybersecurity best practices.
Adoption rates for critical controls like MFA, strong passwords, and role-based access remain dangerously low.
Low Adoption Leaves Big Gaps
Only 20–34% of SMBs are using basic cybersecurity controls, such as:
- Multi-factor authentication
- Mandatory strong passwords
- Role-based access for employees
Strong passwords are the foundation of your business’s cybersecurity strategy. Without them, your organization could be vulnerable to costly breaches and cyberattacks. Add these best practices to your password policy.
This is leaving many of them wide open to today’s most common and devastating threats, including:
Threats Are Evolving, and So Should Your Strategy
90% of attacks now target the cloud
Double extortion ransomware is up 64%
75% of human-operated ransomware involves compromised admin accounts
Recovery costs average $2.73M and take over a month
Why Proactive Cybersecurity Is No Longer Optional
Gartner predicts a 100% increase in MDR adoption by 2025 because the complexity of modern attacks is too much for internal teams to handle alone.
The Financial Implications of Cyberattacks for Small Businesses
If the current rate of cyber threat growth continues, the financial impact on small businesses will be significant. According to the International Monetary Fund, cybercrime is projected to cost the world $23 trillion by 2027 – marking a 175% increase from 2022.
As businesses become more entwined with technology, they’re also becoming more vulnerable to increasingly sophisticated attacks like ransomware, phishing, denial of service, and man-in-the-middle exploits.
But what about the impact on an individual organization?
Unfortunately, IBM’s data supports this trend. They report the average cost of a data breach went up in 2024. It currently stands at $4.9 million – a 10% increase over three years.
What determines your total financial fallout after an attack? It comes down to three key factors:
- Direct costs
- Indirect costs
- Whether you need to hire support
1. Direct Costs of a Cyber Attack
When your organization experiences a cyberattack, you’re responsible for all the direct costs. These include costs such as:
- Damages and repairs
- Hiring customer service personnel to handle calls
- Providing free credit monitoring to impacted customers
- Offering free or discounted products and services
- Paying fines
Please note: We’ve seen some organizations online mentioning paying ransomware as a direct cost. Never pay a ransom requested by a hacker.
Even if you pay, they may not keep their word on whatever they promise you (they’re hackers, after all). By paying you’re encouraging them to attack you again or someone else in the future.
2. Indirect Costs of a Cyber Attack
Indirect costs of an attack include how it impacts your normal operations. The indirect costs include:
- Lost sales
- Reduced or complete loss of productivity
- Reputational damage
- Cyber insurance premiums increasing
According to SorlarWinds’ Orange Matter, the average cost of downtime for small businesses is $427 per minute. That equates to $25,620 per hour. Every minute a cyber attack slows down your business, it’s costing you.
The impact of a cyberattack causing downtime can range from a few hours to several days or even longer. This type of disruption will significantly affect your business’s effectiveness and your bottom line.
3. Hiring External Support
If the attack is complex and your team isn’t experienced, you might need to bring in experts. The professionals you need to hire may include:
- IT security consultants
- Public relations consultants
- Lawyers
- Accountants
- Risk-management consultants
- Physical security consultants
When planning your small business’s cybersecurity, remember these costs to avoid surprises after a cyberattack.
Budgeting for Cybersecurity
Wondering how much cyber security costs? Well, the cost of cybersecurity for your small business will differ based on various factors, as we mentioned earlier. This includes the size and complexity of your business’s IT infrastructure, industry, compliance needs, and the sensitive data handled. That said, we can give you a rough starting point.
Cybersecurity Pricing In-house
Small businesses with effective security programs allocate around 10% to 20% of their total IT budget to cybersecurity measures. With a similar budget, you can support a wide range of cybersecurity activities, including:
- Cybersecurity awareness training
- Simulated phishing campaigns
- Software purchases
- Password managers
- IT staff upskilling
- Monitoring services
- Firewalls
Cyber Security Services Prices
If you’re looking to reduce cybersecurity costs, consider partnering with a managed security service provider. Outsourced cybersecurity services prices are affordable. You can expect the cyber security pricing to be a set monthly fee ranging from $50 to $200 for each user.
The True Cost of Cybersecurity
The real cost of protecting your small business against threats largely depends on the level of cyber risk you’re willing (and able) to handle. As we demonstrated in this article, a data breach can heavily impact your financial stability. Improving your cybersecurity gradually can help reduce possible losses and build trust with your customers, partners, and stakeholders.
Learn the financial impact of cyber threats on your business’s data. Plus, unlock the financial implications of in-house vs. outsourced cybersecurity.
Smart spending will help you create a robust cybersecurity program – allowing it to be cyber-resilient and keep your business running efficiently.
Not sure where to start with your cybersecurity program? Follow this cybersecurity strategy crafted by our experts.
Get Affordable Managed Cybersecurity Today
Teal offers responsive and secure managed IT services to SMBs nationally, with local business IT solutions provided in:
Established in 2000, we enrich lives by delivering ultra-responsive services, prioritizing integrated cybersecurity, and investing in our staff.
Explore our managed cybersecurity services today.
