Data reveal that the average cost is as high as $4.35 million in 2022, a record!

The recently released "2022 Cost of Data Breach Report" shows that the scale and average cost of a global data breach in 2022 will hit a record high, with the average cost of a data breach as high as $4.35 million.

The 2022 Cost of a Data Breach Report is an in-depth analysis of real-world data breaches experienced by 550 organizations worldwide between March 2021 and March 2022.Analyzing data breach reports helps us understand how the current data breach affects us and what to do next.

The report summarizes the data security issues identified as follows:

1. The zero trust strategy needs to be taken seriously.80% of critical infrastructures do not implement a zero trust strategy, and 28% of data breaches in organizations that do not implement a zero trust program are related to ransomware or disruptive attacks.

2. Security technology can greatly reduce leakage costs.Organizations deploying AI and automated security technologies reduced breach costs by an average of $3.05 million, the most effective way to reduce breach costs observed.

3. Phishing attacks are the main means of hackers.Phishing and credential theft were the main reasons, resulting in an average breach cost of $4.91 million to victims.

4. The medical industry has become the hardest hit area.The healthcare industry is the industry with the highest data breach costs, with an average breach cost of $10.1 million in the healthcare industry in 2022.

5. Excessive trust in the supply chain.17% of breaches in critical infrastructure organizations are due to compromised business partners, underscoring the security risks posed by an environment of over-trust.

6. Paying the ransom does not reduce the cost of leakage.The total cost of breaches to businesses paying ransoms reached $812,000, above the average of $610,000.As a result, the total cost of a data breach is higher for businesses that choose to pay the ransom, and it also provides financial support for ransomware groups that could potentially expand their scale.

The persistence of global cyberattacks means that data breaches will have an ongoing "hard-to-eliminate impact" on businesses.The IBM report found that 83% of companies and institutions surveyed had experienced more than one data breach.At the same time, the after-effects of data breaches can also become apparent over time, with long-term effects on the victimized enterprise.Research data shows that nearly 50% of data breach costs are incurred more than a year after a data breach occurs.

Traditional security policies can protect an organization's network security and data security.However, sophisticated attackers have turned to attack vectors that organizations did not expect.They started targeting aspects that security teams often overlooked.For example, employees on social media platforms or for a collaboration tool - email.

Email is one of the most neglected aspects of business management.Email is the preferred method for hackers to gain initial access and infiltrate.

So, protecting email is protecting corporate data.