CFOs are increasing budgets and spending more on Cybersecurity. They are doing so in an effort to protect against threats and attacks, but also see Cybersecurity as an investment with an opportunity to innovate and increase revenue.

Spending on Cybersecurity becomes more than about spending money to protect the business and avoid loss. It also becomes about addressing risk and innovation, which enables growth within an organization.

CFOs are viewing Cybersecurity less as a cost center, but as a way to generate more revenue.

According to a recent survey by Cisco, when asked how much they expected their company's Cybersecurity spending to change in the next 12 months, 41 percent of the CFOs said they expect it to increase "significantly." Another 46 percent said they expect it to increase "somewhat. When asked how much the availability of business benefit metrics would affect their decision to invest in Cybersecurity, 38 percent of CFOs said they would be "much more likely to invest." Another 43 percent said they would be "somewhat more likely to invest."

Small to medium sized businesses continue to become more digital by connecting people, processes and data. However, this also increases vulnerability to cyberattacks. Successful hacks disrupt business, decrease customer confidence and impact an organization's reputation and brand.

The Ponemon Institute's 2014 Cost of Data Breach Study: United States puts the average cost for each lost or stolen record at $201, and the total average 2014 cost paid by organizations at $5.9 million for each data breach, up from $5.4 million in 2013. These rising costs are attributable to the loss of customers following the data breach due to the additional expense required to preserve the organization's brand and reputation.

Indeed, nearly one-third of CFOs recently surveyed by Cisco said "enabling business growth" was a major consideration when considering their level of cybersecurity investment.

It's clear that Cybersecurity is no longer just a matter for an organization's IT department. It is something that needs to be owned across the entire organization.

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