The possibility of negative press or getting involved in lawsuits because of a security breach is very bad for business, so they'd rather pay the money for security. One notable example is the attack on music e-tailer CDNow's website last year. A hacker allegedly obtained access to one of the company's databases, which contained sensitive customer data, including thousands of credit card numbers and billing addresses. Though CDNow was commended for being forthcoming with details of the attack, analysts suspect that the company lost sales and maybe even investors because of the resulting negative coverage of the crack into its system. But fear of negative media coverage isn't the only motivating factor for the increased spending on security.
Some companies just see it as good business sense.
However, all these technical components need to be secure, so companies are spending more money on security. Complete network security now requires a host of products and services, and technical expertise that is becoming increasingly scarce. Two years ago, securing a network simply meant installing a firewall, or software that protects a company's internal network from outside intruders, analysts say. Finding network administrators who can handle all these systems is difficult, analysts note. As a result, many companies are opting to outsource their network's security.