Headlines report million-dollar breach costs, but what does that actually mean for your business? The global average cost of a data breach reached $4.88 million in 2024—but the range varies dramatically based on your industry, security posture, and response capabilities.
$4.88M
Global Average Cost
258 Days
Avg. Detection Time
10%
YoY Cost Increase
Breaking Down Breach Costs
Detection & Escalation
Forensics, investigation, audit services
Notification Costs
Customer outreach, regulatory reporting
Post-Breach Response
Help desk, credit monitoring, legal fees
Lost Business
Customer churn, reputation damage, downtime
Cost Multipliers
Several factors can significantly increase breach costs:
Skills Shortage
+$1.76M
Organizations with security skills shortages pay significantly more per breach.
No AI/Automation
+$1.88M
Companies without security AI and automation face higher costs.
Healthcare Industry
$9.77M
Healthcare has the highest average breach cost of any industry.
Compliance Failures
+$220K
Regulatory fines add to direct breach costs.
Cost-Reducing Factors
Security AI and automation: -$1.88M average savings
Incident response team and testing: -$2.03M savings
Employee training: -$0.26M savings
Encryption: -$0.22M savings
Threat intelligence: -$0.17M savings
The Monitoring ROI
Credential monitoring is one of the most cost-effective security investments. At $59-999/month, LeakLoop can prevent breaches that cost millions. Organizations that detect breaches internally save nearly $1 million compared to attacker-disclosed breaches.