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SCP-4491 Safe ✓ high confidence
SCP-4491
Expected annual
$1.2M
One-time setup
$604K
Annual recurring
$1.1M
Personnel
8
One-time startup costs are approximately $603,600 driven primarily by a contingency reserve, secure hardware (HSM, workstation, CCTV) and software development. Recurring annual costs are approximately $1,140,000/yr driven mainly by personnel wages, cyber monitoring/takedown operations, research, and incident/forensics allowances.
🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $604K
Contingency Reserve $500K
[#14] Incident response & emergency contingency fund / reserve recommended at $500,000 (one-time reserve).
Facilities $35K
[#1, #6] Secure safe locker purchase and installation (#1, $10,000) plus secure viewing room upgrades including optional Faraday/observation/CCTV-ready fixtures (#6, $25,000).
Equipment $33K
[#2, #3, #4, #7] Encrypted external drives (3) (#2, $600), HSM/key-management device (#3, $15,000), air-gapped playback workstation & hardening (#4, $12,000), CCTV/tamper sensor hardware & installation (#7, $5,000).
Initial Research And Lab Setup $30K
[#5] Custom playback control software and frame-limiting firmware development (trusted/auditable player, logging, crypto-signed logs) estimated at $30,000.
Pki And Documentation Setup $5K
[#16] Secure documentation, PKI/software setup for cryptographically-signed logs and chain-of-custody systems ($5,000 one-time).
Vault Transfer $1K
[#15] One-time secure transfer costs for off-site redundant storage/vaulting ($1,000).
🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $1.1M/yr
Staff Wages $730K/yr
[#8] Core project personnel salaries and benefits: Project Head ($150k), IT specialist ($100k), 2 researchers ($160k), 2 guards ($90k), part-time psychologist (0.25 FTE, $30k), admin (0.5 FTE, $25k) plus ~30% benefits/overhead (total ~$730k/yr).
Research And Monitoring $100K/yr
[#11] Neuroimaging and controlled research budget (fMRI/EEG sessions, participant compensation, analysis) budgeted at ~$100,000/yr.
Cyber Monitoring $100K/yr
[#12] Automated web monitoring, analyst time, contractor takedowns and international removals estimated ~$100,000/yr.
Cover Story And Legal $50K/yr
[#13] Legal takedowns, disinformation/cover operations, international legal efforts ~$50,000/yr.
Forensics Takedown Allowance $50K/yr
[#18] Annual allowance for forensic analysis and takedown/removal operations if unauthorized copies are found (~$50,000/yr).
Medical And Aftercare $25K/yr
[#10] Medical evaluation and aftercare per viewing including observation and counseling; baseline program plus occasional intensive care budgeted at ~$25,000/yr.
Insurance $25K/yr
[#19] Psychological risk mitigation program and liability insurance premiums (~$25,000/yr).
Software Maintenance $12K/yr
[#17] Ongoing maintenance, patching, air-gap assurance, and periodic security testing (~$12,000/yr).
Logistics And Transport $10K/yr
[#22] Transportation & secure logistics for occasional moves of redundant drives or equipment (~$10,000/yr).
Ethics Oversight $10K/yr
[#23] Periodic review and ethics oversight board costs (~$10,000/yr).
Documentation Audit $8K/yr
[#16] Annual audit and administrative effort for documentation, chain-of-custody, PKI admin (~$8,000/yr).
Training And Certification $5K/yr
[#9] Initial and periodic memetic-safety and viewing protocol training; recurring refresher courses ~$5,000/yr.
Vaulting Fees $5K/yr
[#15] Off-site secure vaulting fees and secure logistics for redundant copies estimated ~$5,000/yr.
Records Redaction $5K/yr
[#21] Records redaction, OPSEC admin, FOIA-equivalent request handling (~$5,000/yr).
Supplies And Consumables $2K/yr
[#20] Consumables and routine maintenance (tamper seals, archival media rotation, batteries) estimated at $2,000/yr.
Archival Migration $2K/yr
[#24] Long-term archival migration annualized (~$2,000/yr).
Cctv And Logging $1K/yr
[#7] Annual log storage and secure logging maintenance for CCTV/tamper sensors ~$1,000/yr.
Facilities Maintenance $0/yr
[]
⚡ Cost Scenarios
📊 Baseline (baseline) $1.1M/yr
77.5% probability / year
Normal year with no major incidents; containment and research continue as planned.
routine operations scheduled viewings and research regular monitoring and audits
🚨 Minor Incident $1.2M/yr
20.0% probability / year +$20K vs baseline
Small unauthorized viewing event or limited online re-upload that requires targeted takedown and limited counseling.
unauthorized short viewing localized re-upload discovered limited forensic/takedown action
🚨 Major Breach $1.6M/yr
2.0% probability / year +$500K vs baseline
Significant public exposure or discovery requiring deployment of contingency reserve, mass counseling, and extended takedown/legal ops.
widespread re-upload public exposure requiring quarantine/counseling large coordinated takedown operations
🚨 Catastrophic Breach $2.6M/yr
0.5% probability / year +$1.5M vs baseline
Major uncontrolled dissemination with broad public impact requiring multi-jurisdictional covert operations, mass medical response, and extended legal action.
global viral dissemination mass psychological harm multi-site emergency response
👥 Personnel 8 total
Role Count Notes
Project Head / Senior Researcher 1 [#8] Senior researcher/project head as specified.
IT Specialist 1 [#8] Full-time IT specialist responsible for air-gapped systems and keys.
Research Scientist / Analyst 2 [#8] Two researchers/analysts (2× roles) supporting experiments and reviews.
Psychologist / Medical Officer 1 [#8] Part-time psychologist/medical officer (0.25 FTE noted in budget but counted as one staff member for headcount).
Security Officer / MTF Agent 2 [#8] Two site-level security officers for physical shifts.
Administrative Staff 1 [#8] Administrative support (0.5 FTE noted) counted as one headcount.
📋 Confidence Notes
Analyst notes provide explicit line-item estimates and ranges for most costs and a clear staffing list; totals are straightforward aggregations of those items, yielding high confidence.
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