Real Talk: What is the Cost of Cybersecurity for Women-Owned Small Businesses?
Phew, I had drafted this for last week, but it's been a wild ride lately! Let's talk about money.
Cybersecurity investments can feel overwhelming when you’re running a small or medium-sized business. As women business owners, you’re already juggling countless responsibilities, and cybersecurity often falls into the intimidating category of "I know I need it, but what will it actually cost me?" For that matter, what is "it?"
Before I jump in, let me share something exciting: I'll be doing a free Cyber Confident webinar for women business owners next week on Monday, June 9th, at 12pm EDT! Join me to learn more.
Now, let's break down the typical costs of typical cybersecurity services, to help you make informed decisions that protect your business without breaking the bank.
What drives cybersecurity pricing up or down?
Several factors relevant to small businesses that can drive costs up are:
Size of Your Organization: As your company grows, so do your security needs. Larger businesses require more complex solutions to protect their expanded attack surface, resulting in higher costs. The more devices—such as computers, phones, and servers—you have, the more you’ll typically pay for protection.
Industry-Specific Requirements: If you operate in highly regulated industries like healthcare, finance, or legal services, you'll need additional security measures to ensure compliance with HIPAA, PCI-DSS, or other regulations. These specialized requirements often increase cybersecurity costs.
Comprehensive Service Levels: 24/7 monitoring services, advanced threat detection, and rapid incident response capabilities provide superior protection but come at premium prices. The more comprehensive the coverage, the higher the investment.
The main factors that can drive costs down are:
Cloud-Based Solutions: Many modern security tools are cloud-based, eliminating the need for expensive on-premises hardware and reducing overall costs.
Scalable Pricing Models: Many providers offer per-user or per-device pricing that scales with your business, allowing you to start small and expand protection as you grow.
Bundled Services: Comprehensive security packages that combine multiple services often cost less than purchasing each component separately.
Cost-cutting options: Limited coverage, automated services, offshore operations, and more junior staff cut costs.
Other factors apply more to larger businesses, so I'm not including them here.
What are some typical prices for various services?
Understanding the typical price ranges helps you plan:
Managed Security Services: You can hire a company to handle aspects of cybersecurity for you. For managed security services, expect to pay around $100–$300 per user or device per month, depending on the provider and level of service.
Endpoint Protection: Modern antivirus/antimalware solutions. Expect to pay less than $50 per user per year, with some free options available.
Penetration Testing: A security assessment that simulates cyber attacks. These typically cost $5000-$30000, depending on the scope and depth of testing.
Industry packaging and service tiers explained
Cybersecurity providers typically offer their services in several common structures:
Flat Fee Packages: Some providers offer simple flat-rate pricing for small businesses with straightforward needs. These packages typically include essential protections like antivirus, firewalls, and basic monitoring for a set monthly fee.
Per-User or Per-Device Pricing: This scalable approach charges based on the number of users or devices protected. It works well for growing businesses since you only pay for what you use.
Tiered Service Levels: Many providers offer good-better-best pricing tiers:
Basic Tier: Essential protection including antivirus, firewall, and patch management
Standard Tier: Adds proactive monitoring, email protection, and basic employee training
Premium Tier: Includes advanced threat detection, 24/7 monitoring, incident response, and comprehensive training
Project-Based Services: For specialized needs like penetration testing or security audits, providers typically charge on a project basis rather than a recurring fee.
Hidden costs of inadequate cybersecurity
Beyond direct security expenses, insufficient protection can be very costly:
Operational Disruption: A ransomware attack can halt your business operations entirely, leading to immediate revenue loss. This downtime is typically the most expensive consequence of cyberattacks.
Regulatory Fines: Data breaches involving sensitive information can trigger regulatory penalties under laws like GDPR, CCPA, or industry-specific regulations.
Customer Notification and Support: After a breach, you'll need to notify affected customers and possibly provide credit monitoring services, adding significant expenses.
Legal Liability: Breach-related lawsuits from customers or partners can lead to substantial legal costs and potential settlements.
Reputation Damage: Perhaps most devastating, the loss of customer trust can cause long-term revenue decline that far exceeds the immediate breach costs.
The elephant in the room: Is professional cybersecurity really worth it?
This is the question many women business owners ask. Let's consider the facts.
The case for professional cybersecurity
With nearly 73% of US small businesses reporting cyberattacks in 2023, the probability of experiencing an incident is high. Professional security significantly reduces this risk.
Outsourcing security to experts allows you to concentrate on growing your business rather than becoming cybersecurity specialists yourselves.
Estimates vary, but most sources put the average cost of a cyberattack on a small to medium-sized business (SMB) between $120,000 and $1.2 million, depending on the type and severity of the attack -- much more than the cost of protecting the business.
The case for DIY or limited cybersecurity help
For very small businesses, comprehensive security services may consume a disproportionate share of available resources.
For some businesses, focusing on fundamental security measures (strong passwords, multi-factor authentication, data backups) may address the most critical risks with minimal investment.
Starting with essential protection and gradually expanding your security measures as your business grows can make costs more manageable.
Are there rules of thumb?
There are rough rules of thumb for larger businesses, such as 10% of revenue goes to IT and 10% of that goes to cybersecurity. That's an oversimplification because it really depends on the type of business, sensitivity of the data, how regulated the industry is, etc.
For smaller businesses, various sources suggest the average spend on IT is about 4%, and about 11% of that goes towards cybersecurity. So for example, a business with revenue of $250,000 a year might put $10,000 towards general IT and $1,100 of that would go towards cybersecurity training, insurance, services, and tools. Again, that's an oversimplification because tech startups or healthcare-related businesses may have greater security needs.
How to make cybersecurity work within your budget
Women-owned businesses often operate with tighter resource constraints, but effective security remains possible:
Focus first on protecting your most sensitive data and critical systems rather than trying to secure everything equally.
Implementing basic security measures—such as multi-factor authentication, strong password policies, and regular data backups—provides significant protection at minimal cost.
Many providers offer fractional CISO (chief information security officer) services that provide expert guidance without the cost of a full-time security executive.
Look for cybersecurity companies that specifically cater to SMBs with appropriately scaled solutions and pricing.
Conclusion: Investing in Security That Makes Sense for Your Business
Ultimately, cybersecurity isn't one-size-fits-all. The right approach matches your specific needs, and will likely be a combination of DIY and paid approaches at the start. Remember that the most effective strategy isn't becoming a cybersecurity expert yourself, but rather applying your business expertise to make informed security decisions.
If you want to understand more about how to decide what you need to protect in your business, join our free Cyber Confident webinar for women business owners next week on Monday, June 9th, at 12pm EDT. Sign up here.
