A security incident happens three times a year on a company's web server costing the company $1,500 in downtime, per occurrence. The web server is only for archival access and is scheduled to be…

Avoiding the risk would require decommissioning the server immediately, which eliminates planned archival access and likely incurs additional decommissioning costs not accounted for in the scenario.

Transferring the risk - such as through cyber insurance - introduces ongoing premium costs that are unquantified and may exceed the $20,000 mitigation cost over five years.

Accepting the risk results in $22,500 in total downtime costs over five years, which is $2,500 more expensive than implementing the mitigation software.

Mitigating the risk is most cost-effective because the total cost of mitigation over five years is $15,000 + ($1,000 x 5) = $20,000, while accepting the risk costs 3 x $1,500 x 5 = $22,500 in downtime. Mitigation saves $2,500 over the server's remaining life, making it the more economical choice compared to all other options.