Data Breach Costs Rose Significantly In 2008, Ponemon Study Says

[security curmudgeon <jericho () attrition org>]

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From: InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>

http://www.darkreading.com/security/attacks/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=213000466

By Tim Wilson
DarkReading
Feb 02, 2009

The cost of data breaches is on the rise, and businesses that experience 
them are losing customers as a result, according to a new study issued 
today.

In an an update to its popular annual "U.S. Cost of a Data Breach Study," 
Ponemon Institute and PGP have published a new report that indicates many 
of the cost factors surrounding security incidents have risen in the past 
12 months.

"After four years of conducting this study, one thing remains constant: 
U.S. businesses continue to pay dearly for having a data breach," says 
Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder of The Ponemon Institute. "As costs 
only continue to rise, companies must remain on guard or face losing 
valuable customers in this unpredictable economy."

The average cost of a data breach in 2008 grew to $202 per record 
compromised, an increase of 2.5 percent since 2007 ($197 per record) and 
11 percent compared to 2006 ($182 per record), according to the study. The 
average total cost per reporting company was more than $6.6 million per 
breach -- up from $6.3 million in 2007 and $4.7 million in 2006 -- and 
ranged from $613,000 to almost $32 million.

[...]
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