The IBM security and Ponemon Institute release report that cyberattacks are costing companies nearly $4 million per breach. The report provides in-depth look at the financial implications of small-, medium- and large-sized breaches after interviewing more than 3,000 people working for 524 organizations experiencing data breaches between August 2019 and April 2020. Cybersecurity experts provide an insight on this report below.
The latest edition of the IBM/Ponemon report shows that data breaches remain costly for organizations that suffer from one. The most significant takeaway is investment organizations can make to substantially reduce the cost of a data breach. Testing their incident response plans and having business continuity plans in place both provided significant benefits. Adding Red Team tests, automating responses with AI, and improving user education all showed additional benefits.
These are all methods experts in the industry have been suggesting for years. This report shows conclusively the value of planning for the worst-case scenario, validating those plans, applying AI to automate responses in real-time, and educating users to reduce the chance of a breach in the first place. Data breaches will always be costly. How much you will have to pay incontrovertibly depends on your preparation. So, prepare wisely! A drop in the bucket now may pad your wallet later.
You could be forgiven for thinking that data breaches are now a part of daily business routine. Costing millions of pounds on average, it is clear that more must be done to help protect intellectual data and mitigate the risk. Securing the perimeter to your most valuable data doesn’t always have to cost the earth either, but when you realise that the potential threats are an everyday occurrence, it is a simple decision to bolster existing cyber defences.
Robust cyber security is more effective than insurance alone, and should be viewed as a solid protector. Like with the old saying, prevention is better than cure, and never has that been more apparent than in 2020.