SCP-6948 — SCP-6948 | Cost Breakdown

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SCP-6948 Uncontained ~ medium confidence

SCP-6948

Expected annual

$39.6M

One-time setup

$66.1M

Annual recurring

$37.7M

Personnel

Initial setup costs are dominated by archive/vault construction, research lab buildout, and a large rights-acquisition reserve; annual operating costs are driven by staff wages, legal/PR/platform partnerships, and a standing contingency black-budget.

🏗️ One-Time Capital Costs Total: $66.1M

Rights Acquisition Reserve $50.0M

[#8] Program-level contingency for buying rights / high-value acquisitions to control physical media and IP.

Initial Research And Lab Setup $6.2M

[#12, #21] Restoration lab setup and capital funding for forensic/scientific research lab buildout.

Facilities $6.0M

[#1, #2] Secure program office startup and construction/refit of hardened archive/vaults (secure office accreditation and medium vault build/refit).

Decommissioning Fund $2.0M

[#30] Program sunset / decommissioning fund for transfer of archives and legal wrap-up.

Equipment $1.6M

[#5, #6, #13, #19] One-time purchases for cyber monitoring tools, cybersecurity/forensic lab hardware, long-term archive hardware, and surveillance/SIGINT equipment.

Diplomatic Engagement One Time $300K

[#10] Per-engagement diplomatic / liaison one-off costs (discrete state-level negotiations).

🔄 Annual Recurring Costs Total: $37.7M/yr

Contingency Black Budget $10.0M/yr

[#17] Discretionary covert operations, emergency buyouts, exfiltrations, and urgent legal actions.

Cover Story And Legal $9.2M/yr

[#4, #7, #9, #14, #16, #23, #27] PR firm retainers and campaigns, legal retainers and settlement/NDA reserves (routine), platform partnership fees, disinformation/counter-leak operations, reputation management, and scholar/grant-based influence.

Staff Wages $7.0M/yr

[#1, #3, #24, #25, #26, #5, #6] Salaries for program executives, covert intelligence/field operatives, regional monitoring contractors, appraisal specialists, and on-site security (staff components of cyber/security roles included).

Research And Monitoring $4.1M/yr

[#21, #13] Ongoing forensic/scientific research funding and long-term digital archive storage/maintenance (plus small academic vigilance grants moved to cover_story_and_legal).

Logistics And Transport $1.4M/yr

[#11, #15, #18] Secure transport/armored couriers, festival/academic attendance monitoring, and travel/logistics for global operations.

Cyber Operations $1.2M/yr

[#5] Ongoing SOC, monitoring, cloud processing, AI detection, and platform contracts for automated takedown and monitoring.

Cybersecurity Operations $1.0M/yr

[#6] Incident response, forensics operations, secure servers and penetration testing upkeep.

Insurance Reserve $1.0M/yr

[#22] Recurring reserve / indemnity fund for large claims related to suppression actions.

Diplomatic Staffing $500K/yr

[#10] Ongoing government liaison and diplomatic staffing costs.

Whistleblower Reserve $500K/yr

[#29] Reserve for whistleblower settlements and related legal costs.

Facilities Maintenance $400K/yr

[#2] Maintenance, utilities, and physical protections upkeep for vaults and archive facilities.

Film Restoration Operations $300K/yr

[#12] Ongoing per-item restoration costs and specialist lab operations (per-feature restorations).

Insurance And Indemnities $300K/yr

[#22] Annual insurance premiums for staff, facilities, and holdings.

Audit And Compliance $300K/yr

[#29] Internal audit, compliance program, anonymous tipline management, and investigation costs.

Training And Clearances $200K/yr

[#20] Ongoing training, OPSEC, evidence-handling training, and security-clearance processing fees.

Surveillance Maintenance $150K/yr

[#19] Maintenance and operational costs for SIGINT/RF monitoring, encrypted comms, and covert devices.

Supplies And Consumables $50K/yr

[#28] Consumables and waste disposal / secure destruction operation consumables.

⚡ Cost Scenarios

📊 Baseline (baseline) $37.7M/yr

82.0% probability / year

Normal year with routine monitoring, legal/PR activity, and no major acquisitions or large-scale incidents.

routine monitoring standard takedowns no major litigation or large purchases

🚨 Minor Incident $38.7M/yr

12.0% probability / year +$1.0M vs baseline

Localized leak or high-profile online dissemination requiring intensified takedowns, extra legal hours, and targeted operations.

viral leak targeted seizure operations spike in takedown/legal processing

🚨 Major Litigation $57.7M/yr

4.0% probability / year +$20.0M vs baseline

Cross-border or high-stakes litigation, major settlements, or protracted court battles requiring large contingency spending.

class-action or state-level suit international legal dispute major settlement demand

🚨 Large Acquisition Or Rights Purchase $87.7M/yr

2.0% probability / year +$50.0M vs baseline

One-off purchase of a major studio asset or rights package to secure a significant physical/digital asset.

identification of a flagship asset studio/estate sale opportunity avoidable public exposure without purchase

👥 Personnel 70 total

Role	Count	Notes
Site Director / Executive Staff	3	[#1] Director and executive staff to oversee program and liaise with leadership.
Program Management & Administrative Staff	10	[#1] Operations officers, accountants, administrative support, contracting and auditing staff.
Security Officer / MTF Agent	15	[#3,#26] Covert operatives and on-site security personnel for recovery, transport, and guarding of materials.
Cybersecurity / Forensics Staff	12	[#5,#6] SOC analysts, incident responders, and forensic technicians for monitoring and investigations.
Regional Monitoring Contractors / Linguists	8	[#24] Part-time regional specialists for non-English monitoring and local outreach.
Archive Appraisal & Acquisition Specialists	4	[#25] Curators and rights negotiators to locate, appraise, and acquire items.
On-site Security Guards	6	[#26] Guard staff for vaults and visitor screening (per-site staffing).
Compliance / Audit & Investigations Staff	4	[#29] Internal compliance, whistleblower management, and investigative staff.
In-house Legal Counsel	4	[#4] Counsel to manage routine legal work and coordinate retained counsel for high-stakes litigation.
Administrative / Legal Support (paralegals, coordinators)	4	[#1,#4] Support staff for legal, HR, and program logistics.

📋 Confidence Notes

Analyst notes are detailed with ranges, allowing a reasoned budget; however wide ranges for rights purchases, black-budget spending, and litigation outcomes introduce significant uncertainty, so confidence is medium.

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