5 Data Loss Prevention Statistics You Should Know About

The tide of tainted data is growing as more businesses suffer severe security breaches. According to statistics on data breaches, money is a major driving force for hackers to acquire data, and personal information is one of the most valuable types of data to infiltrate. Although breaches are happening increasingly frequently, it is also clear that businesses still need to be adequately prepared for them. For companies of all sizes, data loss is a severe issue. Recovering or restoring important information takes more time and money when files are lost. Data loss happens when data is unintentionally erased or corrupted for any other reason. Data can become illegible by people and software due to viruses, physical damage, or formatting mistakes. The effects of losing files and papers can frequently persist for years.

Data loss prevention (DLP) is critical to contemporary information security. Organizations must recognize the need to deploy efficient DLP solutions, given the rising volume of sensitive data and the frequency of data breaches. On average, it takes businesses 191 days to discover data breaches, and this is where DLP comes in. Organizations can start a successful cybersecurity program using DLP strategies and effectively combat and mitigate data loss risks. Everyone knows that data loss can occur anytime; therefore, being ready for the worst is crucial.

This blog discusses 5 data loss prevention statistics that everyone should know.

28% of data breaches are attributed to internal actors or insiders

If you want to safeguard yourself against external threats and cybercriminals, create a complex system. However, you want to pay attention to threats that could already be present in your network while focusing on erecting a barrier against intruders. Threats from insiders can be challenging to manage. Anybody could make these threats: a disgruntled worker unhappy with their position, a careless user, or a nosy coworker. Whether deliberate or unintentional, even a minor error can have serious consequences. The finest data loss protection guidelines include how to manage insider threats. It’s a prevalent misperception that malicious attackers are the leading cause of data loss. More than half of data breaches are still caused by external attacks. Internal data breaches, however, are also on the rise and represent almost half of all data breaches.

For many organizations, monitoring end-user access to sensitive information, as well as the movement of this data, is an essential part of their cybersecurity program. Before the ubiquity of cloud platforms and hybrid work, this was done with an on-premises data loss prevention tool.

Malicious attackers cause 52% of data breaches

A malicious attack is any attempt to forcefully exploit or misuse someone else’s computer, whether by social engineering or other forms of social engineering, computer viruses, phishing, or computer viruses. A firewall installation is a great technique to stop malicious attacks. By denying all unauthorized entry to or exit from a private computer network, a firewall guards against harmful attacks. A firewall provides an additional defense against malware when used with antivirus or anti-malware software, significantly lowering the likelihood of a harmful attack. Organizations can avoid malware-related security vulnerabilities using the correct endpoint and network security prevention tools.

Human error accounts for the most common cause of data loss in businesses

Human errors, hardware, and software failures are the most frequent reasons businesses encounter data loss. But human error takes the lead. Verizon reports that 82% of breaches involve humans as attack vectors. Humans are not perfect because we all make mistakes, sometimes serious ones. These errors may cause data files or text fragments to be unintentionally deleted for enterprises. Without recognizing it, employees can destroy or overwrite crucial files for your company. Many other common causes of data loss, such as hard drive failure, liquid spills, software corruption, and hard drive formatting, can also be attributed to human mistakes. Proper training is a crucial step in preventing human error in data management. Ensure your staff knows how backup solutions operate and how data is processed within your organization. Knowing if the papers they are working with will be automatically backed up or if they must manually save files while working will help.

The average data breach cost for Small Businesses with under 500 employees is $2.98 million

According to a graphic of small business cyber security statistics, the average cost of a data breach for small and medium-sized businesses is $2.98 million. Depending on the size of the organization and the size of the attack, there is a wide range of costs connected with data breaches. According to the 2021 Cost of a Data Breach Report from IBM and the Ponemon Institute, small businesses (those with fewer than 500 employees) spend, on average, nearly $3 million per incident. This contrasts the $2.63 million cost for companies with between 500 and 1000 employees and the $5.25 million average per-incident cost for businesses with between 10,000 and 25,000 employees.

Only 97% of data is recovered after a ransomware attack

Data loss recovery figures show that even if most businesses recover part of the data they lost because of ransomware attacks, just 8% of them succeed in doing so, according to Sophos’ 2021 State of Ransomware Report.35% of the data is often lost by the victim. In addition, 29% of the stolen data is only partially recovered, whereas 65% is recovered on average when the ransom is paid. There’s no assurance that companies get a working decryption key if they pay the ransom the attacker asks. And even if they do receive a key, they might not be able to obtain back all your data.

Conclusion

The statistics regarding data loss prevention highlight the significance of putting in place sensible measures to safeguard sensitive data. Organizations must prioritize DLP efforts, address frequent sources of data loss, and adhere to pertinent rules considering the rising incidence of data breaches. By understanding these figures, organizations can take proactive steps to protect their data, preserve customer trust, and reduce the financial and reputational costs associated with data breaches.