I have to admit to a certain level of schadenfreude in watching multimillionaire Wall Street bankers who have gotten rich on bad decisions crash and burn, but the unfortunate thing is, they’re taking down everybody else with them.

Prices are high, wages are down, and layoffs are rampant, especially here in the Industrial Midwest where manufacturing and driving huge SUVs is seen as a birthright. Many industries are reporting that sales are down this quarter. But for those of us in the IT business, the big question is whether it will have an impact on technology, and how big that impact will be. More to the point, will companies still spend money on security when the budget is tight? Should they?

The CFO, faced with having to cut the budget, will ask two questions: Does this expenditure create a profit center for the company, and is it necessary for us to continue operating? Regarding information security, no, it does not create a profit center. And you can continue operating while cutting the security budget–just not for very long.

The fact of the matter is, our economy is in trouble, and the upcoming government bailout isn’t going to make things better overnight. And when the economy is in trouble, people are in trouble–and crime starts to rise. Some may resort to petty thievery, robbery, stealing scrap metal off of abandoned houses, or robbing banks, and this activity has already seen marked increases. If you are technically inclined, you resort to hacking, spamming and other types of cyber-attacks as a criminal enterprise. Of course, some cyber-criminals are just vigilantes, vandals, or people with just too much time on their hands–but for the most part, they’re in it for the money. And the number of people that are into cyber-crime for the money will only increase.

CSO Online’s Bill Brenner talks about the issue and offers some links to stories about how to continue ensuring security during a recession.

Things like email security tend to be somewhat recession-proof. The need doesn’t stop just because you’re broke. When the lock on your front door breaks, you fix it, one way or another, regardless of finances. In fact, you may just invest in a better lock, since you know there are more criminals afoot. The same is true of email security; it’s just not an area you can skimp on, during any economy–and especially not in today’s economy.