The price tag for a data breach went up this year, way up. Although the global average cost per breach is now a whopping $3.86 million, the average cost for the U.S. is $8.64 million, the most expensive in the world. IBM’s “2020 Cost of a Data Breach” report sheds light on the growing financial costs of a breach, having increased by more than $2 million each over the past two years. The report also finds employees are the costly reason behind enterprise data breaches. That’s because employee error leads to compromised accounts, and compromised accounts are exploited resulting in data breaches.
The IBM report looks at other factors impacting a breach and how they can increase or lower the financial cost to the enterprise, as well as the number of stolen customer data files. The extent of damage to an enterprise is reflected in security protocols and in the technology that can help prevent a malicious breach. To sum it up, the total price tag ultimately depends on the action, or inaction, of the enterprise and the extent of security precautions they have in place to counter data breaches.
Data Breach Average Overview
Data Breach Costs on Average
Data Breach Savings on Average
Phishing is still the most common way breaches occur. The users are the end of the line for preventing many attacks. If users know how to identify them, they can avoid letting loose the latest ransomware into your network. If they understand how important patching is, they will be more willing to make sure it gets done on their workstations.
Continuous and ongoing awareness training just might be the ticket to keeping your breach costs in your organization’s bank account.