Industrial Cybersecurity & OT Risk worked example

Ransomware Exposure Cost at 57% share of systems in the modeled scenario: a worked example

What does the result look like when share of systems in the modeled scenario reaches 57%? The full calculation is worked below with real intermediate numbers. Use it to quantify defensive planning exposure for backup, recovery, segmentation, and incident response investment decisions.

The inputs for this scenario

  • Affected OT systems needing recovery: 18 systems (unchanged)
  • Recovery cost per affected OT system: 22,000 $ / system (unchanged)
  • Share of systems in the modeled scenario: 57 % (raised for this scenario; the documented default is 50)
  • Fixed ransomware response cost: 85,000 $ (unchanged)

Working through the calculation

  • Applying the documented formula (Variable ransomware exposure cost = affected OT recovery units × cost per affected recovery unit × scenario scope included) to the inputs above produces each figure below.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 310,720 $ for total ransomware exposure cost, the number this scenario is built around.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 17,262 $ / system for cost per affected recovery unit.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 225,720 $ for variable ransomware exposure cost.
  • At this operating point the engine returns 85,000 $ for fixed ransomware response cost.

How this compares with the baseline

  • Against the tool's baseline example, where share of systems in the modeled scenario sits at 50% and the headline result is 283,000 $, this scenario comes in 9.8% above the baseline at 310,720 $.
  • A figure at this level is achievable when share of systems in the modeled scenario is genuinely sustained, not just peaked for a shift. It models recovery effort only — it excludes any ransom payment, production downtime loss, regulatory fines, and the chance that backups themselves are encrypted.

Results at a glance

  • Total ransomware exposure cost: 310,720 $ (headline result)
  • Cost per affected recovery unit: 17,262 $ / system
  • Variable ransomware exposure cost: 225,720 $
  • Fixed ransomware response cost: 85,000 $

Run it with your numbers

  • Every input above is editable in the live Ransomware Exposure Cost calculator, which recalculates instantly and can be shared with the inputs intact.

Last reviewed 2026-05-12.