Calculating the ROI of Computer Physical Security

Every examination of computer security starts with a physical security component (Chart 1). It's basic and important, yet not terribly exciting to most practitioners. However, the role of physical security deserves more scrutiny in uncertain financial times as the potential for theft increases. Additionally, strong evidence suggests that basic computer security has the best ROI of any single security measure you can take. In the security business, “return is measured by what might occur and how likely it is to occur,” says Scott Berinato in his CSO article titled Calculated Risk: Return on Security Investment. “That is the game of risk and probability; you prepare for something to happen by investing in ways to stop it from happening.”

Consider the Facts*

• One in 10 laptops are stolen
• Stolen or lost computers are the leading cause of data breaches, averaging 31% of all breaches from 2005 through 2007
• The average cost per breached record is $182
• The average cost per breach per company is $4.8 million
• Average cost of a Master Keyed computer locking device: $40 (your cost may vary)
• Expected life: Forever (Lifetime Limited Warranty from PC Guardian)

*Source: Data Breach by Computer Theft, Manage Risk by Minimizing Exposure, Herman Mehling, 10/08

Calculate Your Computer Security ROI

By investing a relatively small sum in computer theft prevention, your mitigated risks and associated cost savings turn into big returns on investment. Use our ROI calculator to discover just how much you can save your company.

ROI CALCULTATOR

Enter your assumptions to calculate your computer security ROI

Number of computers

Replacement value of one Computer

$

Other replacement related costs (per computer)◊

$

Total other related costs

 

Total Replacement Value

 

Probability of theft
(studies say 10%)

%

Annual loss expectancy (ALE)

 

Cost of One PC Guardian Security Cable Lock

$

Total Cost to lock all computers (Mitigation)

 

Theft Reduction from installation of Security Cable Locks

%

Modified Probability of Theft with Mitigation

 

Modified ALE (Loss) with Security Cable Locks

 

Theft Reduction Savings

 

Return on Investment

 

How do you figure?

Let's consider a hypothetical security situation and determine the ROI of securing your computers with a PC Guardian computer security system. To make the math easier, we'll assume your company has 100 laptops. According to the available stats, ten will likely be stolen. Let's also assume each costs $2,000 to replace (factoring in time, software, etc. If we include lost productivity, the cost could easily double). Even without considering any data breach costs, this equals a conservative expected loss of $20,000.

If you lock down those 100 laptops at a cost of $4,000, (100 x $40), instead of 10 stolen laptops, let's assume only two laptops will be stolen. To determine your ROI, we have to introduce a little math and a few risk assessment terms.

The calculation goes like this:

In our example:

By introducing PC Guardian computer security (a mitigation measure) in our example, you will decrease the probability of theft by 80% (100% -80% =20%).

That makes your modified probability of theft:
.10 (probability of theft) × .20 (effect of mitigation) = .02 (or 2%). Hence your Modified ALE (mALE) is

Calculate your savings by subtracting mALE and your mitigation cost (cost of PC Guardian locks) from ALE:

ROI: In this example, if you spend $4,000 on Computer locks, you will save $12,000

Your ROI is 300%.