A Chief Information Officer (CIO) asks the company's security specialist if the company should spend any funds on malware protection for a specific server. Based on a risk assessment, the ARO value…

With an SLE of $500 and an ARO of 5, the ALE = $500 × 5 = $2500. Since the ALE exactly equals the annual protection cost of $2500, there is no financial benefit to purchasing the protection - and any SLE below $500 would make ALE less than the control cost, making it a net loss. At $500, the break-even point means spending $2500 to prevent $2500 in losses yields zero ROI, making the purchase economically unjustifiable when considering administrative overhead and other costs.

An SLE of $1000 yields an ALE of $1000 × 5 = $5000, which exceeds the $2500 protection cost, meaning the control provides a positive ROI and should be purchased.

An SLE of $2000 yields an ALE of $2000 × 5 = $10000, which far exceeds the $2500 protection cost, strongly justifying the purchase of malware protection.

An SLE of $2500 yields an ALE of $2500 × 5 = $12500, which greatly exceeds the $2500 protection cost, making the malware protection a clearly worthwhile investment.