According to Help Net Security, the cost of data breaches has declined by 10% from 2016 to 2017.<\/p>\n
It’s bizarre given that all we ever read about and hear is the increasing costs of data breaches to businesses! We should also consider the fact that 2017 isn’t over yet!<\/p>\n
The Ponemon Institute study (sponsored by IMB Security) conducts independent research on privacy, data protection and information security policy. They aim to inform companies and organisations on how to improve their data protection initiatives and therefore enhance their reputation as a trusted organisation who are being proactive in data protection.
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In the 2017 Ponemon Institute study, research suggested that the average cost of a data breach is $3.62 million (\u00a32.77 million) worldwide. The latest report studied over 419 organisations.<\/p>\n
This is reportedly the first time that the global study has shown a decrease in the overall cost of a data breach<\/strong>. Year-on-year, the trend has shown an increase in the cost, which is why this news comes as a surprise<\/strong> for all.<\/p>\n The study showed that the U.K. ranked 8th<\/sup> for the average number of breached records by country or region, with 21,663 data breaches in 2017 so far. Most notably, there was a significant decrease of data breaches in Europe. Analysis of 11 countries and 2 regions surveyed in the report showed a close correlation between the response to regulatory requirements in Europe and the overall cost of a data breach.<\/p>\n The study showed that European countries had a 26% decrease<\/strong> in the total cost of a data breach over last year’s study.<\/p>\n This could be to do with the new European General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) that will be coming into force on 25th<\/sup> May 2018. The GDPR is intended to strengthen and unify data protection for all within the European Union. It has the intended effect of giving control back to citizens and residents over their personal data and to simplify the regulatory environment within the European Union.<\/p>\n When it comes into force it will be directly binding and applicable. The sanctions of infringing the regulations are a lot harsher than the current national sanctions. The penalties are as follows:<\/p>\nU.K. and European data breaches<\/h3>\n
How will the GDPR affect the cost of data breaches?<\/h4>\n