There are 6.03 million reasons for organizations to protect
their databases from cyber-attacks. The 2016 Cost of Data Breach Study (the
"Study"), produced by IBM and the Ponemon Institute, serves as a sharp reminder
for organizations to continue to bolster their data security
initiatives. According to the Study, the average cost of a data
breach is up 12.5% over the past year, from $5.32 million to $6.03
million. Adding to the concern, there is a 26% chance of a material
data breach involving at least 10,000 lost or stolen records
occurring within the next 2 years.
The Study examined the costs sustained by 24 Canadian companies
from 11 different sectors over a 12-month period. Organizations
that suffered a catastrophic number of breached records (more than
100,000 lost or stolen records) were omitted from the Study in an
effort to provide representative results. This means, for example,
that the massive data breach suffered by Ashley Madison was not accounted for in
