Optimizing Cybersecurity Investments over Time

In the context of growing vulnerabilities, cyber-risk management cannot rely on a one-off approach, instead calling for a continuous re-assessment of the risk and adaptation of risk management strategies. Under the mixed investment–insurance approach, where both risk mitigation and risk transfer are...

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Main Authors: Alessandro Mazzoccoli, Maurizio Naldi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-06-01
Series:Algorithms
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4893/15/6/211
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author Alessandro Mazzoccoli
Maurizio Naldi
author_facet Alessandro Mazzoccoli
Maurizio Naldi
author_sort Alessandro Mazzoccoli
collection DOAJ
description In the context of growing vulnerabilities, cyber-risk management cannot rely on a one-off approach, instead calling for a continuous re-assessment of the risk and adaptation of risk management strategies. Under the mixed investment–insurance approach, where both risk mitigation and risk transfer are employed, the adaptation implies the re-computation of the optimal amount to invest in security over time. In this paper, we deal with the problem of computing the optimal balance between investment and insurance payments to achieve the minimum overall security expense when the vulnerability grows over time according to a logistic function, adopting a greedy approach, where strategy adaptation is carried out periodically at each investment epoch. We consider three liability degrees, from full liability to partial liability with deductibles. We find that insurance represents by far the dominant component in the mix and may be relied on as a single protection tool when the vulnerability is very low.
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spelling doaj.art-1668be0dc54741228e41fb121ae571792023-11-23T15:13:23ZengMDPI AGAlgorithms1999-48932022-06-0115621110.3390/a15060211Optimizing Cybersecurity Investments over TimeAlessandro Mazzoccoli0Maurizio Naldi1Department of Law, Economics, Politics and Modern Languages, LUMSA University, Via Marcantonio Colonna 19, 00192 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Law, Economics, Politics and Modern Languages, LUMSA University, Via Marcantonio Colonna 19, 00192 Rome, ItalyIn the context of growing vulnerabilities, cyber-risk management cannot rely on a one-off approach, instead calling for a continuous re-assessment of the risk and adaptation of risk management strategies. Under the mixed investment–insurance approach, where both risk mitigation and risk transfer are employed, the adaptation implies the re-computation of the optimal amount to invest in security over time. In this paper, we deal with the problem of computing the optimal balance between investment and insurance payments to achieve the minimum overall security expense when the vulnerability grows over time according to a logistic function, adopting a greedy approach, where strategy adaptation is carried out periodically at each investment epoch. We consider three liability degrees, from full liability to partial liability with deductibles. We find that insurance represents by far the dominant component in the mix and may be relied on as a single protection tool when the vulnerability is very low.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4893/15/6/211cybersecurityoptimal investmentcyber insurancerisk management
spellingShingle Alessandro Mazzoccoli
Maurizio Naldi
Optimizing Cybersecurity Investments over Time
Algorithms
cybersecurity
optimal investment
cyber insurance
risk management
title Optimizing Cybersecurity Investments over Time
title_full Optimizing Cybersecurity Investments over Time
title_fullStr Optimizing Cybersecurity Investments over Time
title_full_unstemmed Optimizing Cybersecurity Investments over Time
title_short Optimizing Cybersecurity Investments over Time
title_sort optimizing cybersecurity investments over time
topic cybersecurity
optimal investment
cyber insurance
risk management
url https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4893/15/6/211
work_keys_str_mv AT alessandromazzoccoli optimizingcybersecurityinvestmentsovertime
AT maurizionaldi optimizingcybersecurityinvestmentsovertime