In a recent study by IBM of 537 real breaches in 17 countries, it was found that the average cost of a data breach is a whopping $3.86 million in 2020. Of that, stolen employee credentials and a cloud that is misconfigured are the primary data breach sources.
It was also found that the average cost ‘per record’ due to a data breach is $146 and for personally identifiable information, the cost per record breached goes to $150.
When we look at it practically, every business has numerous records — cash records, sales records, bank statements, customer information, ledgers and invoices, to say a few. So, the total cost of a breach comes to at least a few thousand dollars, even for a small business.
On the other hand, the cost of cyber security applications or adapting protection solutions is so much lesser. By spending only a small percentage of the total cost of a breach, you get to keep your IT systems safe. And also retain the customers’ trust by keeping their sensitive information protected.