The cost of a data breach on a company is $3.8 million, a jump of 23 percent from 2013, according to a Ponemon Institute report sponsored by IBM.
The study looks at the cost of data breaches at 350 companies in 11 countries. The cost for each record stolen that contained sensitive information was about $145-$154; stolen healthcare records were the most costly, reaching as high as $363 per record, according to the report.
The reasons for the increase, Ponemon Institute founder Larry Ponemon says in an announcement, include the growing number of cyberattacks on all industries, the financial consequences of losing consumers after an attack and the cost of investigations into breaches.
Breaches and cyberattacks on the healthcare industry are far too common, with a new one reported almost every week. In the past six months, health insurers Anthem, Premera and CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield have had to notify patients that their information was compromised in an attack.
Anthem may face damage control costs of more than $100 million after a cybersecurity attack exposed the information of about 80 million of its current and former customers.
The Ponemon study also looked at the impact of involvement of industry leaders on data breaches. Researchers found more positive consequences and reduced costs when boards of directors take an active role in a breach's aftermath.
To learn more:
- read the announcement
- check out the report (.pdf)