2016 Ponemon Institute Cost of a Data Breach Study

The 2018 Cost of a Data Breach Study from Ponemon Institute is now available.

IBM is proud to sponsor the eleventh annual Cost of a Data Breach Study, the industry’s gold-standard benchmark research, independently conducted by Ponemon Institute.

This year’s study found the average consolidated total cost of a data breach is $4 million. The study also reports that the cost incurred for each lost or stolen record containing sensitive and confidential information increased from a consolidated average of $154 to $158. In addition to cost data, the global study puts the likelihood of a material data breach involving 10,000 lost or stolen records in the next 24 months at 26 percent.

The research involved the collection of detailed information about the financial consequences of a data breach. For purposes of this research, a data breach occurs when sensitive, protected or confidential data is lost or stolen and put at risk. Over a 10-month period, Ponemon Institute researchers interviewed IT, compliance and information security practitioners representing 383 organizations in 12 countries: United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, France, Brazil, Japan, Italy, India, the Arabian region (a consolidation of organizations in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia), Canada and for the first time, South Africa.

Read the 2016 Cost of a Data Breach report to learn:

The average costs and consequences related to experiencing a data breach incident.
Seven global mega trends in the cost of data breach research.
The most common factors that influence and can limit the cost of a breach.

Download the 2018 Cost of a Data Breach Study from Ponemon Institute

Larry Ponemon

Chairman and Founder, Ponemon Institute

Defense in depth: Layering your security coverage

2 min read - The more valuable a possession, the more steps you take to protect it. A home, for example, is protected by the lock systems on doors and windows, but the valuable or sensitive items that a criminal might steal are stored with even more security — in a locked filing cabinet or a safe. This provides layers of protection for the things you really don’t want a thief to get their hands on. You tailor each item’s protection accordingly, depending on…

What is data security posture management?

3 min read - Do you know where all your organization’s data resides across your hybrid cloud environment? Is it appropriately protected? How sure are you? 30%? 50%? It may not be enough. The Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023 revealed that 82% of breaches involved data in the cloud, and 39% of breached data was stored across multiple types of environments. If you have any doubt, your enterprise should consider acquiring a data security posture management (DSPM) solution. With the global average…

Cost of a data breach: The evolving role of law enforcement

4 min read - If someone broke into your company’s office to steal your valuable assets, your first step would be to contact law enforcement. But would your reaction be the same if someone broke into your company’s network and accessed your most valuable assets through a data breach? A decade ago, when smartphones were still relatively new and most people were still coming to understand the value of data both corporate-wide and personally, there was little incentive to report cyber crime. It was…

Security Intelligence

{{title}}

{{title}}

{{title}}

Topics

More from Data Protection

Defense in depth: Layering your security coverage

What is data security posture management?

Cost of a data breach: The evolving role of law enforcement

Topic updates