Cost of a data breach: Cost savings with law enforcement involvement


For those working in the information security and cybersecurity industries, the technical impacts of a data breach are generally understood. But for those outside of these technical functions, such as executives, operators and business support functions, “explaining” the real impact of a breach can be difficult. Therefore, explaining impacts in terms of quantifiable financial figures and other simple metrics creates a relatively level playing field for most stakeholders, including law enforcement.


IBM’s 2024 Cost of a Data Breach (“CODB”) Report helps to explain the financial impact when law enforcement is involved in the response. Specifically, the CODB report, which studied over 600 organizations, found that when law enforcement assisted the victim during a ransomware attack the cost of a breach lowered by an average of $1 million, excluding the cost of any ransom paid. That is an increase compared to the 2023 CODB Report when the difference was closer to $470,000.


But law enforcement involvement is not ubiquitous. For example, when an organization faced a ransomware attack only 52% of those surveyed involved law enforcement, but the majority of those (63%) also did not end up paying the ransom. Moreover, the CODB Report found law enforcement support helped reduce the time to identify a ..

Support the originator by clicking the read the rest link below.