The cost of a data breach has increased slightly in the last six years on average. Costs are up 10% since 2014 to $3.86 million, according to the annual Cost of a Data Breach Report, published by IBM Security and based on research conducted by the Ponemon Institute.
Three areas in particular proved to have the biggest cost impact for organizations in the study. Take a look at steps organizations can take to mitigate data breach costs, from security automation and a well-trained incident response capability to securing cloud environments.
Behind the Numbers on Protecting Against a Data Breach
Specifically, the difference between costs for the least prepared organizations in the study and most prepared organizations — those with best practices for proactive, responsive security measures — has grown over the past few years.
The study, based on 524 recent global data breaches, found the average cost of a data breach went down slightly since 2019. This statistic hides a key connection. Organizations that had implemented an advanced security program faced significantly lower average data breach costs. Meanwhile, those without such programs struggled with much higher average costs.
In other words, the savings for investing in cybersecurity have increased.
Here are three major factors that most affect the cost of a 2020 data breach.
Security Automation and Incident Response Work
First, the numbers in this year’s report present compelling evidence ..
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