New research has revealed the top 10 countries losing the most money to data breaches – and South Africa features in 10th place with an average data breach cost of $3 210 000.
A study by Proxyrack looked into the countries and industries losing the most money to data breaches, as well as the countries most commonly targeted by data breaches and the effect remote working has had on data breaches.
The top 10 countries losing the most money to data breaches
| Rank | Country/Region | Average Data Breach Cost |
| 1 | United States | $9,050,000 |
| 2 | Middle East | $6,930,000 |
| 3 | Canada | $5,400,000 |
| 4 | Germany | $4,890,000 |
| 5 | South Korea | $4,690,000 |
| 6 | United Kingdom | $4,670,000 |
| 7 | France | $4,570,000 |
| 8 | Italy | $3,610,000 |
| 9 | South Africa | $3,210,000 |
| 10 | Australia | $2,820,000 |
The research also shows that, as of November 2022, South Africa has had over 28 349 445 data breaches – which is the 49th highest total in the world.
South Africa is the 80th most commonly targeted country for data breaches, with 473 328 breaches per 1-million people.
Other findings reveal:
* The average cost of a data breach in the healthcare industry is $9,23-million, which is the highest of any of the industries profiled.
* The US is the most commonly targeted country in the world by data breaches with over 7-million breaches per 1-million people.
* In 2021, the average data breach cost for companies with 81% to 100% of remote employees was over $5,5-million, whereas companies with 61% to 80% of remote employees had an average data breach cost of just under $4,4-million.