BENGALURU: Cost of data breaches for companies have soared to $4.2 million per incident across the globe, the highest in 17 years, as per an IBM report.
Based on analysis of real-world data breaches experienced by over 500 organisations, the study suggests that security incidents became more costly and harder to contain due to drastic operational shifts during the pandemic, with costs rising 10% compared to the prior year.
While the pandemic made it compulsory for most to shift to remote working conditions and other cloudbased activities, the pace of security advancement could not keep pace with the transformation.
“While data breach costs reached a record high over the past year, the report also showed positive signs about the impact of modern security tactics, such as AI, automation and the adoption of a zero-trust approach – which may pay off in reducing the cost of these incidents further down the line,” said Chris McCurdy, VP & GM in IBM Security.
In India, the average total cost of data breach was Rs 16.5 crore, an increase of 18% compared to 2020. The cost per lost or stolen record was Rs 5,900, up about 7%.
Breaches cost over $1 million more on average when remote work was indicated as a factor in the event, compared to those in this group without this factor ($4.9 million vs $3.8 million). The report adds that healthcare, retail and hospitality, those which faced huge operational challenges during the pandemic, also experienced a substantial increase in data breach costs year over year. Healthcare was the worst hit, with breaches costing $9.2 million, up from $7.2 million a year earlier.
