Assessment of Cost-Benefit Dynamics of Cybersecurity Compliance Investments: A Multi-Sectoral Analysis Across Financial, Energy and Intelligence Industries

Abstract

This study examines the cost-benefit dynamics of cybersecurity compliance across the financial, energy, and military intelligence sectors, utilising open-access datasets from the BLS, Statista, Verizon DBIR, ENISA, and IBM. A one-way ANOVA, chi-square test, cost-benefit analysis, and logistic regression were employed to analyse sectoral differences in compliance costs, breach reductions, return on compliance investment (ROCI), and institutional success factors. Results show that financial institutions incur the highest average compliance costs ($30.94 million), while military intelligence yields the highest Return on Capital Invested (ROCI) (1.67). Compliance reduces breach incidents by 57.14% in finance, 50% in energy, and 48.57% in intelligence. Regression findings highlight workforce capacity (β = 3.06, p = .019) and training investment (β = 0.00044, p < .001) as strong predictors of compliance success, while budget constraints significantly hinder outcomes (β = -4.11, p < .001). It is recommended that regulatory bodies develop sector-specific frameworks, expand budget flexibility, institutionalise role-specific training, and incentivise automation and intelligence sharing.