Counting The Cost Of Business Data Theft

Just how much does it cost to deal with a data theft or resolve a security breach? Insurance company Darwin Professional Underwriters has a free on-line calculator to help you find out.The Tech 404 Data Loss Cost Calculator breaks out costs by categories -- investigation and attorney fees, notification and crisis management, compliance resolution.

The minimum number of compromised records the calculator will work with is 1,000; affected records can be increased in increments of 500. Operation is as simple and straightforward as the results are sobering.

Once nice touch is a bit of boilerplate at the bottom of the calclulator where Darwin reminds visitors that the costs calculated there don't include the outcomes of potential class action suits.

Darwin is a bigbiz insurer, but the calculator's tale of the tape is just as instructive to a small or midsize business, as is the company's daily Data Loss Incident report.