Average data breach cost in India at all-time high of Rs 19.5 crore in 2024: Report

The average cost incurred because of a data breach in India reached an all-time high of Rs 19.5 crore in 2024, United States-based technology firm IBM said in a report on Wednesday.

A data breach is a security incident where unauthorised parties access sensitive or confidential information, including personal and corporate data.

IBM’s annual “Cost of a Data Breach Report” said that the cost of such breaches had jumped 39% since 2020. “Globally, 70% of breached organisations reported that the breach caused significant or very significant disruption,” the report added.

The findings were based on analysis of data breaches experienced by 604 organisations globally between March 2023 and February 2024. The research was conducted by the Ponemon Institute, and was sponsored and analysed by IBM.

It attributed the spike in the cost of data breaches in India to lost businesses and notification costs. “The cost of lost business – operational downtime, lost customers, and reputation damage, among others – escalated nearly 45%, and notification costs jumped 19% from the previous year,” it said.

Lost business typically refers to the loss of revenue, customers or market share due to various factors, including data breaches.

Notification costs refers to the expenses incurred when using an external party to notify individuals or firms about a data breach or a security...

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