Ever-Increasing Data Breach Costs: Why And What To Do
Security Boulevard, Tuesday, September 3rd, 2024
Data breach costs keep rising-it's a perennial occurrence at this point to see these types of statements. But it doesn't necessarily need to be the default for this trend to continue. In fact, you could argue that frequent reports, warnings and advisories should help drive costs down. So, what's going on with ever-increasing data breach costs? And what can you do about it?
Unpacking the Trend of Increasing Data Breach Costs
Perhaps the most cited figure in cybersecurity comes from IBM's annually published Cost of a Data Breach report. And with good reason-this report offers an in-depth analysis of the financial impact of data breaches across various industries and regions. It draws on real-world data to provide insights into the average cost of a breach, the factors that influence these costs and trends over time.
The IBM data breach cost is basically the benchmark figure; a reference point if you want to understand and mitigate the financial risks associated with data breaches. Rather than dive into the specific number here, though, a notable finding was that data breach costs rose by 10% this year, which is the largest increase year-over-year since the onset of the COVID pandemic and all the cybersecurity chaos that ensued alongside technological change.