The cost of a data breach is not easy to define, but as more organizations fall victim to attacks and exposures, the potential financial repercussions are becoming clearer. For modern businesses of all shapes and sizes, the monetary impact of suffering a data breach is substantial. IBM’s latest Cost of a Data Breach report discovered that, in 2022, the average cost of a data breach globally reached an all-time high of $4.35 million. This figure represents a 2.6% increase from the previous year and a 12.7% rise from 2020.
Factors such as incident type and severity, regulatory standards, company size, sector, and region can significantly affect how much a data breach could costs a business, but all organizations must carefully assess and prepare for the monetary hits that could be just around the corner should they fall victim. Some are potentially far more damaging (and less obvious) than others.