Over 146 billion records expected to be stolen by 2023

Around 12 billion records will be compromised in data breaches worldwide this year, and this will grow to over 33 billion in 2023, according to Juniper Research.

In a new white paper, the research firm predicts that over 146 billion records will be stolen over the next five years.

But despite the growing scale of the threat as well as legislation such as the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation and Australia’s own Notifiable Data Breach scheme, global spending on cybersecurity is expected to increase by an average of just 9% per company per year.

The white paper notes that even though small businesses comprise 95% of all companies, this segment is expected to account for only 13% of cybersecurity spending this year. Such companies spend on average under $500 a year on cybersecurity, with many relying on consumer-grade products.

But the total direct and indirect cost of a breach can exceed millions of dollars, vastly exceeding such a company’s turnover.

Emerging threats such as newer forms of malware also require companies to employ more advanced cybersecurity functionality, the company said.

“Juniper’s strategic analysis of 48 leading cybersecurity companies shows that AI and predictive analytics are now table stakes for this market,” remarked research author James Moar. “These technologies need to be made available to all businesses, regardless of size.”

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/ArtemSam

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