In the latest Cost of Data Breach report released by IBM in 2023, the average cost of a data breach has surged to an all-time high, amounting to USD $4.45 million. This alarming figure reflects a notable 2.3% increase from the 2022 cost of USD 4.35 million and a substantial 15.3% increase from the USD 3.86 million recorded in the 2020 report.
The data for the Cost of Data Breach Report was compiled by IBM from over 553 breaches in 16 countries, taking into account hundreds of cost factors.
United States held the title for the highest data breach costs with USD $9.48 million
The United States holds the title for the highest data breach costs, reaching USD $9.48 million.
For the 13th consecutive year, the United States continues to hold the record for the highest cost of data breach. Meanwhile, the Middle East and Canada maintain their positions as second and third, respectively.
Notably, both Canada and Germany experienced a decrease in the average cost of data breach. Canada decreased to $5.13 million from USD $5.64 million in 2022, while Germany dropped from USD $4.85 million to $4.67 million.
How are organizations addressing the rising problem of data breaches?
According to the report, some organizations that participated in the study have identified key areas they wish to invest in, such as incident response (IR) planning and testing, employee training, and threat detection and response technology.
On the other hand, security AI and automation were shown to be important factors in reducing costs and minimizing the time to identify and contain breaches. Businesses that utilized these capabilities reported an average of 108 days shorter time to identify and contain the breach.
Moreover, these organizations also reported $1.76 million lower data breach costs compared to organizations that didn’t use security AI and automation.
Read the full report here
