The Cost of a Data Breach
by MNJR | June 22, 2023 | Category: Regulated Data
The Cost of a Data Breach
With the rapid advancement of technology, more and more people are turning to digital platforms for storing, uploading, and sharing their data. However, this increased reliance on the digital realm comes with an increased risk of a data breach.
To prepare your organization, it is important to understand the financial costs associated with data breaches, and what you can do about it.
An Increasing Threat
Between 2020 and 2022, the average total cost of a breach increased by 13% to $4.35 million - the highest it has ever been. Data breaches have a significant ongoing ripple effect throughout an organization - 83% of breached organizations experience multiple breaches. Consequently, around 60% of companies are forced to raise prices to cope with the resulting financial burden, ultimately erroding a competative edge.
The implications of these breaches extend beyond individual businesses, impacting the overall landscape of data security.
Not All Breaches are Created Equal
Different types of data breaches have varying costs and impacts.
44% involve the loss of customer personally identifiable information (PII), which averages a cost of $180 per record! Business email compromise (BEC) breaches accounts for only 4% of breaches, but they carry the highest average cost of $5.01 million per breach. Ransomware attacks are on the rise - they have increased 41% since 2021, now accounting for 11% of all breaches and costing an average of $4.54 million per breach. Phishing, malicious insiders, social engineering, and compromised credentials round out the pack with costs ranging from $4.37 million to $4.65 million.
Time is an Enemy
The average time to identify and contain a data breach is 287 days. Longer containment periods result in higher costs, with breaches exceeding 200 days costing around $4.87 million, compared to $3.61 million for breaches contained within 200 days.
How Zero Trust Can Help
Companies who adopt a Zero Trust architecture experience lower average breach costs due to enhanced security measures. Breaches without Zero Trust result in an average cost of $5.04 million, while companies that deployed Zero Trust reduced the average cost of a breach by 35% to $3.28 million.
However, the majority (76%) of organizations responsible for critical data still have not yet adopted a Zero Trust architecture.
Due to the rising number of breaches, and the repercussions of a breach for individuals and business, it is urgent that data protection be a priority. Implementing a proactive solution for critical data and interfaces, such as a Diode Zero Trust solution, can mitigate risks and reduce breach costs, if any.
Diode’s solutions are today being used to protect sensitive data (like PII, HIPAA, or IP) for law offices, financial institutions, accounting agencies, insurance brokers, and more.