Equifax to pay up to $700 million in data breach settlement

Marriott faces a $124 million fine for failing to protect customer data

These are just a couple headlines that have come out over the last month regarding penalties for data breaches. How do those numbers compare to your current spend on cybersecurity? A recent social media post from a local CISO fostered some good conversation on the matter when he asked his research and advisory connections:

“Can you please provide a benchmark about the cybersecurity budget before and after a data breach [including fines incurred due to the breach itself]?”

In response to some of the growing dialogue that was stemmed from this inquiry, our own Founder / CEO, Gary Fish, chimed in with some simple, but powerful wisdom when it came to companies’ cybersecurity budgets:

“Spend it now, or spend more later.”

We often only see the enormous fine amounts posted in each subsequent article for each subsequent breach. While those numbers can be scary enough in their own rights, there are other factors to take into consideration.

You’re looking at extra time investments as you take care of the ramifications of the data breach.

You’re looking at legal expenses.

You’re looking at marketing costs as you try to repair your reputation. The list goes on and on.

All of a sudden, your budget allocation to cybersecurity doesn’t look so bad, does it?

We recently saw a prime example of the disastrous consequences of cybersecurity vulnerabilities as a data breach forced medical debt collector AMCA to file for bankruptcy protection.

They were hacked last year in a time period estimated to be from August 1, 2018 to March 30, 2019. In the aftermath of the breach, class-action lawsuits were filed, cybersecurity forensics bills grew exponentially, AMCA’s tarnished reputation led to an exodus of some of their most valuable business partners, and this ultimately led to AMCA filing for Chapter 11.

We know conversations around cybersecurity budgets can be difficult, especially if you have never experienced (or more realistically, haven’t realized you’ve already been compromised) any cyber attacks, or data breaches, but in an increasingly digital world, cybersecurity is more important than ever. Take it from Equifax and Marriott…

Fishtech Group has worked with companies of all sizes to help them grow a mature cybersecurity architecture and plan, delivering the right solution, the first time.

Fishtech Group is a data-driven cybersecurity services provider for any computing platform. Combining a group of holistic, data-driven cybersecurity solutions, we identify gaps and solutions to help organizations minimize risk, maintain compliance, and increase efficiency.