Overview
This article explains how Hyver calculates the Cost of Breach (CoB) in version 2 of its risk model. CoB v2 uses a more comprehensive and evidence-based approach than earlier models, incorporating maturity scores, predictive analytics, and industry-wide breach data to estimate financial impact more accurately. This helps security leaders and decision-makers understand what’s truly at stake.
A More Advanced Approach to Breach Impact
CoB v2 builds on the limitations of traditional breach modeling by combining:
Sophisticated algorithms and machine learning
Public and proprietary breach data
Your organization's Business profile
Inputs from the Maturity assessment, particularly at the NIST CSF subcategory level
The result is a model that tailors financial impact estimates to your specific security posture and operational reality.
Key Data Sources Used
Advisen’s cyber loss database: Over 90,000 real-world cyber events
CYE’s proprietary intelligence: Risk assessments, red team engagements, and internal breach data
Industry benchmarks: Including ransomware trends, insurance data, and regulatory fines
NIST CSF maturity scores: Directly influence the CoB output
This combination provides a much more accurate picture than models based solely on headcount or customer records.
How the CoB v2 Model Works
The model uses:
Inputs from the Business Profile and Maturity Assessment
Machine learning to estimate breach scale and severity
Smart calculators for business continuity, ransomware, and legal/regulatory impact
These are blended with probabilistic models to generate your estimated breach cost — not as a guess, but as a result of validated, evidence-backed logic.
Better Than Traditional Models
Most insurance-based models only account for:
Containment costs: Breach coach, call center, investigation
Regulatory fines & lawsuits: Often based only on customer count and leaked record types
But these approaches often miss:
Product liability (e.g., a software vendor being liable for a client’s breach)
Hidden costs (like long-term brand damage or IP loss)
Organizational maturity (a key factor in real-world breach outcomes)
Hyver’s CoB v2 takes these into account — and more — by incorporating actual maturity data and a wider scope of loss components.
Important notes
CoB v2 requires Maturity subcategory scoring to function correctly — your maturity data feeds directly into the breach impact model
Vendor liability and ransomware impact are now explicitly modeled, offering broader visibility into financial exposure
Wrap-up / Next Steps
CoB v2 gives you a smarter, more reliable view of what a breach would actually cost — and why. By including maturity scores and validated event data, Hyver’s approach helps you budget wisely and explain risk in business terms.