While the true cost of implementing Zero Trust security remains unclear due to it largely varying by sector/organization, what is clear is the amount of money that this security strategy will save you…
As Former FBI Director William H. Webster once said, it is evident that “security is always too much until the day it is not enough.” What is also undeniably evident is the fact that data breaches are on the rise – and so is the cost. Thanks to IBM’s 2021 Data Breach Report, we’ve got the numbers to show for it.
Overall Findings
- 10% increase in average total cost of a breach (2020-2021)
- Average total cost of a data breach – $4.24 M
- Average cost of a breach in hybrid cloud environments – $3.61 M
What is noteworthy about these findings is that the average cost of a data breach is the highest it has been in 17 years. If that isn’t enough to scare you, then how about the fact that this year has brought us the largest single year cost increase that we have seen in the past 7 years? Bad actors work tirelessly day in and day out to access your information and they are becoming extremely good at it.
The Role of Zero Trust in the Remote Workforce
The introduction of the remote workforce brought on by the pandemic has been a driving factor in these increased average costs; organizations have struggled to detect and respond to breaches in a timely manner when working remotely. However, with the implementation of Zero Trust, your organization can work safely and securely in on-premise, cloud, and hybrid environments.
The Zero Trust Difference
Now for the part you’ve been waiting for… According to the 2021 IBM Data Breach Report, the difference in cost between data breaches where mature Zero Trust was deployed versus no Zero Trust was truly significant. The organizations who deployed a mature Zero Trust strategy saved an average of $1.76 M. This vast amount of savings was enough to award organizations who implemented it the lowest average cost of data breaches that we’ve seen in five years while everyone else suffered an all-time high. Those with fully implemented Zero Trust were able to save 43% on breaches; those with no Zero Trust security paid $5.04 M while those who with Zero Trust security in place suffered a lesser cost of $3.28 M.
In fact, even the organizations who only had it partially deployed were still able to save $660,000 or more per incident. If there is anything you should take away from that, it is that partial implementation is always better than nothing. More and more organizations are getting hit by cyberattacks than ever before. Zero Trust is crucial to keeping your business protected and it is highly advised to begin the adoption process as soon as possible.
By implementing a Zero Trust model, you can effectively minimize the cost of a data breach by containing the damage. Check out our free Zero Trust Whitepaper to learn more.
