Calculating Cybersecurity ROI with Return on Mitigation (RoM)
Traditional ROI metrics don't tell the full story for cybersecurity investments. Return on Mitigation (RoM) reshapes how organizations quantify the financial impact of offensive security methods by demonstrating how avoiding losses significantly contributes to a company’s bottom line.
With a real-world example, security leaders can understand the components of RoM and see the breakdown of actual savings of this global $4 billion company.
Understanding the Need for Return on Mitigation
Traditional ROI methods evaluate success based on profits gained relative to investment. For cybersecurity, which primarily prevents catastrophic losses rather than generating revenue, this model falls short.
Breaches cause not only immediate financial damage but also disrupt operations, harm reputations, and erode customer trust. RoM flips the narrative from profitability to the value of loss prevention, highlighting why proactive cybersecurity is an asset, not just a cost center.
Core components of RoM calculation include:
- Mitigated Losses: The financial damage avoided through proactive measures.
- Total Cost of Mitigation: Investments such as program fees, researcher bounties, internal fixes, and validation.
You can visualize RoM as:
By adopting RoM, businesses communicate security value in terms leadership appreciates.
Real-World Application: Anonymized HackerOne Customer Case Study
Let’s illustrate RoM in action using data from an anonymized HackerOne customer, a U.S.-based financial services provider with over 10,000 employees globally. This organization integrated a Vulnerability Disclosure Program (VDP), a private bug bounty program, and triage services across three years (2021–2023).
Breakdown of Savings:
- Critical Vulnerabilities: Addressing 102 issues prevented $14.9 million in losses, each issue averting $146,400 on average.
- High-Severity Vulnerabilities: Fixing 257 issues saved $8.8 million ($34,160 per vulnerability).
- Other Vulnerabilities: Medium and lower risks secured an additional $2 million in mitigated loss.
Beyond financial savings, the organization preserved operational stability, regulatory compliance, and customer loyalty. These intangible benefits underscore the potential of RoM.
Bridging RoM with Broader Business Goals
Cybersecurity doesn’t just save money; it aligns with business priorities:
1. Budget Justification
RoM equips security leaders with a clear framework for demonstrating the necessity of investments to boards and executives. For example, a $15,000 critical vulnerability fix averts millions in damages.a concrete.
2. Prioritizing Initiatives
Companies can channel resources toward high-impact measures using quantifiable data. RoM also lets organizations compare solutions like traditional penetration tests versus comprehensive bug bounty programs.
3. Post-incident Learnings
In the event of a breach or near miss, calculating RoM helps assess the effectiveness of mitigation tactics, aligning future risk reduction strategies.
New Executive Dashboard Enables Faster Reporting
HackerOne customers can now generate a polished, exportable summary of their HackerOne program, perfect for sharing with CISOs, boards, or executive teams, perfect for demonstrating Return on Mitigation.
- Visualize valid reports, payouts, and remediation status
- Filter by timeframe, severity, or custom inbox
- Export PDFs for quarterly reviews, compliance updates, and EBRs
This feature is live now under Analytics > Executive DashboardLearn more here.
Empower Your Cybersecurity Decisions with RoM
Cyber threats won’t slow down, and RoM provides organizations with a financial lens to strategically plan, prioritize, and justify security budgets in an ever-evolving landscape. By adopting this model, security teams can protect business-critical functions while proving their resilience.
Calculate your organization's RoM now, then deep-dive into HackerOne’s whitepaper for more insights.
