Costs Associated With Cyberattacks Doubled in 2023, Report Found

More than half of organizations suffered a cyberattack or breach that prevented data access in 2023, and IT disruption has become commonplace, according to Dell Technologies’ 2023 Global Data Protection Index. Alarmingly, the cost of dealing with cyberattacks has doubled since 2022, a testament to the critical nature of robust cyber defences to reduce financial losses and disruptions.

Report Findings

Dell’s report, which surveyed 1,500 IT and security decision-makers across the globe, revealed a stark picture of the scale of cybercrime worldwide. According to Dell, 55% of global organizations suffered a cyber incident last year, and 90% experienced some form of IT disruption. Of these attacks, more than half stemmed from phishing emails, malicious links, compromised user credentials and hacked devices.

Cyber breaches accounted for an average of 26 hours of unplanned downtime per organization and 2.17 terabytes of data loss in 2023. Worse still, cyber incident costs have doubled from US$0.66 million per attack in 2022 to US$1.41 million in 2023.

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI)

As GenAI continues to redefine how organizations work, its merits in the realm of cybersecurity were noted by Dell’s report. Specifically, 52% of those surveyed said that GenAI would help improve their organization’s cybersecurity posture going forward. However, 88% said that adopting Gen AI will create large volumes of new data needing protection. Overall, GenAI may help but also hinder cybersecurity in 2024.

Cyber Defences

With cyberattacks increasing in sophistication and costing more to recover from, organizations must uphold a strong security posture and implement robust cyber defences. However, according to Dell, less than 10% of respondents have fully implemented Zero Trust Security—a security model characterized by strict access controls—showing there is a way for organizations to go to achieve strong cyber resilience. Dell also noted a degree of over-confidence around the consequences of breaches, particularly ransomware attacks. For instance, a majority of organizations surveyed believed that if they paid the ransom following a ransomware attack, they wouldn’t be attacked again.

In light of Dell’s research, it’s more important than ever for organizations to review their cybersecurity measures, especially as it pertains to evolving technology like GenAI. Protect your business with Cyber Insurance, call us at 780.424.2727 or click here to get a quote.