For industries across the globe, the average cost of a data breach has risen from $3.79 million in 2015 to $4 million in 2016. This information was gathered from IBM and Ponemon Institute’s “2016 Ponemon Cost of Data Breach Study: Global Analysis,” finding healthcare breaches to be the most costly.   The average cost of a data breach is $158 per stolen record across all industries, the cost for healthcare organizations is $355.  According to the report, the average number of records stolen during a breach has risen by 3.2 percent, which explains the increase in cost. The report gathered information from 383 different countries and industries and had several key findings.

Nearly half of all breaches are caused by hackers or criminal insiders. These breaches are more costly than system glitches by an average of $32 per record, and are most expensive in the U.S.  These costs can be significantly reduced by incident response teams by $16 per record. Furthermore, cost can decrease by employee training, broad-level involvement and insurance protection. Elements that increase the cost of data breach resolution include: outside involvement in the breach, rushing to notify, lost or stolen devices and engaging consultant, which raise the price by $14, $6, $5, and $5, respectively.  The highest per capita cost of data breaches occurs in the U.S. and Germany, while organizations in Brazil and South Africa are most likely to experience breaches.

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