4. Impact of a data breach
Financial loss – the average loss due to a data breach was US$4.45 million in 2023, according to IBM's Cost of a Data Breach Report 2023 (experiences of 604 organisations).
Figure 8: Overview of the costs of data breaches and the logo of the website "information is beautiful".
Review and analyse some of the largest data losses using the provided link.
Effects of a Data Breach
Data unavailability as a result of a cyberattack refers to a situation in which authorised users are temporarily or permanently unable to access data due to malicious actions such as encryption, deletion, or system disruption.
Legal consequences – parties affected by a data breach, as well as regulatory authorities, may initiate legal actions that result in financial penalties.
Operational downtime – when a data breach occurs, data may be stolen, damaged, or encrypted until a ransom is paid. If some of this data is critical to your business operations, it can lead to disruptions in productivity, communication, and service delivery.
Reputational damage – current and potential clients may lose trust in the security of your organisation and its ability to protect data, which can result in lost business opportunities, especially when the breach involves sensitive personal information.
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