The cost of data breaches is rising, and this is not likely to change according to a study conducted by Juniper Research; data breach costs will have risen to $2.1 trillion in just four years’ time.
The Cost of Data Breaches Will Continue to Increase
By 2019, researchers predict that cybercrime will be having an incredible impact on the lives of consumers. Their personal data is what thieves are after. With that information, criminals are able to run up millions of dollars in debts in the names of other people.
The new Juniper report, entitled The Future of Cybercrime & Security: Financial & Corporate Threats & Mitigation – looks at the current digital security landscape and analyses the impact cybercrime is having on organizations today, how this has changed in recent months, and how the landscape is likely to change during the next four years.
Juniper predicts that there will be a continued threat of cybercrime through mobile devices, although thieves will be attracted by the bigger prize that is the vast quantities of data stored on network servers. These will be targeted by exploiting the weakest link, which is the users of the system in many cases. Expect phishing to increase dramatically along with spear phishing and malware.
The Internet of Things is not a Major Concern…At the Moment
The Internet of Things is a concern, but according to the researchers it may take more time for cybercriminals to really take advantage of this means of accessing data. The IoT cybersecurity risk is expected to be low, certainly over the next four years. End points are where criminal activity is expected to occur, with hackers exploiting aging, unpatched computers and servers in addition to end point users.
In response to the increased risk of cyberattacks organizations are expected to increase security defenses and that will have an impact on the number of successful breaches. As security is improved, breaches will fall. However, those criminals that are able to break through defenses are likely to be able to obtain large quantities of data and when breaches do occur, they are expected to be highly sophisticated in nature and result in much more damage.
The current global cost of data breaches was determined to be $6 million on average in 2015, with costs in North America higher still. In four years’ time, the expected cost of a data breach is expected to rise to $150 million, with the overall cost reaching $2.1 trillion. The majority of breaches will affect American organizations, where 60% of breaches are expected to occur.