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Untangling the Costs of Cyber Breach Recovery (and Strategies to Avoid Overbilling)

By Christian Geyer
November 01, 2024

The global average cost of a data breach has surged 10% in the past year, reaching a record high $4.88 million. While operational downtime and lost customers remain major contributors, a growing portion of these costs stem from inefficient post-breach responses, particularly non-compliance with regulatory standards and the fines that come along with that. With regulatory pressure mounting, companies are leaning harder on legal professionals to steer them through the post-breach maze — ensuring that every notification is compliant, every deadline is met, and every dollar spent is strategic. In a landscape where one misstep can mean millions, navigating cyber recovery has become as much a legal challenge as a technical one.

The Cost of Improper Notification

Non-compliance, in the context of a breach, goes beyond failing to meet privacy, security, and data-handling regulations ahead of the breach (which often contribute to the breach itself). It also includes failure to meet post-breach requirements, particularly those related to notification. 

When sensitive data is exposed, companies are legally required to notify affected individuals, businesses, and, in some cases, law enforcement, regulatory bodies, and the media. Every U.S. state has legislation mandating prompt disclosure of breaches involving sensitive personal information, the details of which vary by jurisdiction, industry, and type of data.

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