More Than Once! Yes, Organizations are That Vulnerable to Cyberattacks

From USD 4.24 million in 2021 to USD 4.35 million in 2022, the average cost of a data breach grew by 2.6%.

According to the recently released 2022 Cost of a Data Breach Report, the average cost of a data breach hit an all-time high of $4.35 million this year, an increase of 2.6% from a year earlier and 12.7% since 2020. For the first time, new research in the Data Breach Report this year reveals that 83% of the firms in the survey have experienced more than one data breach, while only 17% claimed that this was their first data breach.

Additionally, businesses that have experienced breaches have passed on higher costs to customers at a time when inflation is on the rise. According to the study, 60% of organizations reported raising prices for goods and services in response to breach losses. These are just a few of the many conclusions drawn from a study of 550 firms that suffered a data breach between March 2021 and March 2022 and were located in a range of industries and regions. The Cost of a Data Breach Report, now in its 17th year, is one of the top benchmark studies in the security sector. Ponemon Institute conducted independent research for it, and IBM Security provided analysis. It provides business, IT, and security professionals with a lens into risk variables that could raise the price tag of a data breach and which security procedures and tools might help reduce security risk and monetary losses. By 2022, 70% of enterprises will have implemented security AI and automation, an increase of 18.6% from the 59% in 2020. Costs associated with breaches were $3.05 million lower at 31% of the firms, that claimed that their security AI and automation technologies are "completely deployed," than at organizations without such technology. Data breaches at firms without security AI and automation implemented cost an average of $6.2 million, compared to data breaches at organizations with security AI and automation completely installed, which cost an average of $3.15 million. Another indicator, that of time, reveals the ROI of security AI and automation. Security AI and automation drastically shortened the time it took to detect and contain a data breach while simultaneously lowering costs (i.e., the breach lifecycle). The average lifecycle of a data breach was 74 days shorter with those technologies fully implemented than it was with no security AI and automation. IBM offers SOAR solutions to assist organizations to speed up incident response through automation, standardized procedures, and integration with already-existing security systems. These capabilities enable a more dynamic response by giving security personnel the intelligence to react and the direction they need to quickly and effectively handle problems. According to PwC, healthcare inflation in the U.S. has increased by 6% to 7% since 2020, but costs associated with data breaches have increased by a much greater margin. Costs associated with breaches in the healthcare sector increased 42%, from $7.13 million in 2020 to $10.10 million in 2022. For the past 12 years running, the healthcare sector has had the highest expense.

The research started examining the price of ransomware and catastrophic assaults last year. Compared to the global average of $4.35 million, the average cost of a destructive attack climbed from $4.69 million to $5.12 million in 2022, while the average cost of a ransomware attack decreased somewhat from $4.62 million to $4.54 million. Ransomware now accounts for 11% of breaches, up from 7.8% in 2021 and a growth rate of 41% in 2022. Supply chain attacks or compromises accounted for nearly one-fifth of breaches, costing more and requiring more time to contain.

Organizations have been breached as a result of a partner's or supplier's compromise in several significant assaults that have occurred in recent years. Supply chain attacks accounted for 19% of breaches in 2022, costing an average of $4.46 million, slightly more than the global average. Compromises or supply chain attacks typically lasted 26 days longer than the world as a whole.