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