Data Breach Statistics to Know for 2023

People rarely like to talk about data breach statistics because the breaches themselves can be so detrimental to a company. In fact, they can harm every aspect of an entire business from damage to profit margins and potential lawsuits to negative impacts on reputation. 

If that wasn’t devastating enough, the worst part of a data breach is that no one knows the full impact of the damage until it is all over. 

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The good news is there have been countless studies on data breaches as well as investigations into attack trends that system administrators can use to assess risks of security breaches and failures, and ultimately mitigate possible system threats. 

Data in any field is a valuable asset, and learning about breaches - what lead to them and the fallout that occurred as a result - may be all you need to help you devise a plan to prevent the possibility of a breach happening within your financial institution. 

A surprising aspect of the data breaches that have occurred to date is that they can impact anyone regardless of size or popularity. 

To put it bluntly, if you have data to protect, even you are at risk of a breach. No matter how big or small your business is, you must pay attention to the risks of data breaches if you hope to prevent one. 

Cost of a Data Breach

While larger enterprises may be able to eventually recover, a small or midsize business (SMB) could ultimately close in the event of a data breach. How much would a data breach cost your company?  

• According to BigCommerce, the average cost of a data breach in 2020 for big businesses is more than $150 million. This cost is attributed to the global cost of connectivity and digitization.
• The average cost of a data breach was $3.92 million in 2019, according to the experts at IBM Corporation. However, those costs reached as much as  “$18.3 million annually per company” in the banking and financial institution industry according to Fortunly.
• Email compromises alone cost on average $24,439 per case as reported by Verizon's 2019 findings.

6 Data Breach Statistics, Risks & Numbers for 2023

The internet of things and rapid digitization is expanding the connectivity and infrastructure in the developed world. As a result, IT professionals must budget for data security management. 

Cloud infrastructure may seem like it is a safe option, but even with base-level encryption and passwords, it is difficult to ensure that data is secure without the proper setup and constant security audits. This is even harder for small companies with budget constraints that prevent them from properly protecting their data.

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• Chance of a Data Compromise: 27%
  As recently as 2018, an average user’s chance of having their data compromised is 27.9% per Security Intelligence. That single breach could impact as many as 10,000 records. 

• Banks Targeted 47% of the Time
  Fortunly reported that “banks were the target 47% of financial data breaches.” they went onto say that “Banks remain the most targeted financial institutions...”

• The United States is the Most Targeted Country
  According to the data breach statistics report, by Global Edition found that the United States is the most targeted country and is at a higher risk of data breaches.

• There were 1,473 Data Breaches in the US in 2019
  The United States continues to be the most attacked country with the highest number of data breaches according to Statista who said, “In 2019, the number of data breaches in the United States amounted to 1,473 with over 164.68 million sensitive records exposed.”

• 84% of Organizations Have a Shortage in IT Security Skills
  According to a 2019 report by Cyber Edge on cyber threat defense, ransomware is on the rise, “nearly two-thirds of IT security professionals believe a successful cyberattack is imminent” for companies, and “84% of organizations are experiencing an IT security skills shortage.”
• Hackers Attack Every 39 Seconds
  The University of Maryland concluded in a study at their Clark School of Engineering that hackers attack every 39 seconds.

How to Deter Data Breach Threats

TechRepublic reported, “The common theme across [all] industries is a lack of emphasis on security practices and cultures that don't emphasize customer security as paramount.” They went on to say “We need to collectively rethink how we approach security in the modern age in order to succeed: Start planning for every possible contingency, demand regular audits, and work to reshape the culture around security.”

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The question is, is your business’s network ecosystem secure? If you’re not sure, we recommend a full IT security audit to see how your data is protected.