Michelle ThompsonA recent PwC poll, “2024 Global Digital Trust Insights,” revealed a sharp rise in the proportion of firms globally experiencing data breaches that cost more than $1 million.
The survey, which solicited opinions from 3,800 business and technology leaders in 71 nations, sheds insight on the expanding cybersecurity threat that businesses are facing.
The analysis shows that the percentage of companies experiencing data breaches costing more than $1 million has increased from 27% to a worrisome 36% year over year.
A striking 47% of healthcare organizations reported such expensive breaches, making the healthcare sector the one that was most severely affected.
The average cost of a destructive hack worldwide was $4.4 million, but the healthcare industry was hit considerably more, paying $5.3 million.
A company’s size also has an impact; bigger businesses with over $10 billion in annual revenue reported breaches costing an average of $7.2 million, while smaller businesses with less than $1 billion in revenue suffered damages of $1.9 million.
The survey revealed how businesses see generative AI, revealing a mix of skepticism and excitement. 77% of respondents agreed that generative AI may aid in the creation of new business lines within three years, however 52% of respondents were concerned that it might cause devastating cyberattacks within the following year.
Additionally, 77% of respondents thought that within the coming year, generative AI might boost worker productivity.
Notably, businesses with more developed cybersecurity measures reported more benefits and fewer expensive cyberattacks. The significance of proactive cybersecurity measures and readiness is emphasized by this.
In the poll, just 5% of the organizations consistently reported using 10 defensive and development-oriented cyber practices, earning them the title “Stewards of Digital Trust.”
These businesses were more likely to see rapid growth and often had revenues over $5 billion. Additionally, they were less inclined to predict devastating hacks and more positive about the potential advantages of generative AI.
Digital and computer-related risks were ranked as the top priority for mitigation in the upcoming year by business and tech leaders, despite other global issues including climate change and the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic.
The main cyber dangers were determined to include hack-and-leak operations, linked device attacks, and cloud-related threats.
Organizations are concentrating on talent recruiting and retention strategies to face the changing cyber landscape. Upskilling the current workforce, rebalancing in-house and outsourced services, and finding qualified individuals were highlighted by leaders as their top objectives.
Competition for cyber skills was a major problem for organizations that had $1 million or more worth of cyberattacks.
Emily Martinez
