The global average cost of a data breach is $4.45 million, according to new data from IBM (NYSE: IBM) Security. This represents an increase of 15% over the last three years and a new record high.
The newly published 2023 edition of IBM”™s “Cost of a Data Breach Report” also determined detection and escalation costs were up by 42% since 2020, with more than 95% of studied organizations reporting more than one breach. However, organizations that were breached were more likely to pass incident costs onto consumers (57%) rather than increase their security investments (51%).
Furthermore, ransomware victims in the study that involved law enforcement in resolving their breach saved an average of $470,000 in the costs of a breach compared to those that chose not to involve law enforcement. But despite these potential savings, 37% of ransomware victims studied by IBM opted not to involve law enforcement in a ransomware attack.
Only one-third of studied breaches were detected by an organization’s own security team, compared to 27% that were disclosed by an attacker. Data breaches disclosed by the attacker cost nearly $1 million more on average compared to studied organizations that identified the breach themselves. And the studied organizations that fully deployed security AI and automation saw 108-day shorter breach lifecycles on average compared to organizations not deploying these technologies ”“ and they also recorded nearly $1.8 million lower data breach costs versus the organizations not using those technologies.
“Time is the new currency in cybersecurity both for the defenders and the attackers. As the report shows, early detection and fast response can significantly reduce the impact of a breach,” said Chris McCurdy, general manager at Worldwide IBM Security Services. “Security teams must focus on where adversaries are the most successful and concentrate their efforts on stopping them before they achieve their goals. Investments in threat detection and response approaches that accelerate defenders speed and efficiency ”“ such as AI and automation ”“ are crucial to shifting this balance.”
