There is probably more information stored on your computer than you realize. Your bank details, address, and date of birth have all been inputted into a computer at some point in your life. As scary as it may sound, this information presents a number of opportunities for hackers.

There are numerous ways you can stay safe online, creating strong unique passwords, using a residential proxy, and installing antivirus software can help you feel secure when you’re browsing the internet.

However, this may not stop hackers from trying to get your valuable information. Employees and employers are targeted every day, all around the world. 

The experts at Proxyrack say, as well as looking at which countries experience the most data breaches, we’ve looked at the average cost of a data breach in countries and industries, as well as how the cost is affected by the number of remote workers to show you the financial damage these data breaches can cause.

The top 10 countries losing the most money to data breaches

Source: Proxyrack 

The Countries Losing the Most Money to Data Breaches

First, United States is $9 million average cost of a data breach. Data breaches in the United States were the most expensive, with an average cost of $9 million. Data breaches in the US cost just over $2 million more than any other country on our list. 

Second, the Middle East has a $6.93 million average cost of a data breach. Data breaches in the Middle East are the second most costly in our list. A data breach here costs, on average, $6.93 million. The Middle East is made up of a number of different countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. 

Third, Canada has a $5.4 million average cost of a data breach. Canada completes our top three with the average cost of a data breach costing $5.4 million. Canada’s average cost of a data breach has increased by $900,000 since 2020, which is the equivalent of 20%. 

The Industries Losing the Most Money to Data Breaches.

For hackers, some industries will be more lucrative than others. So The experts found out which industries had the highest cost of a data breach. 

Healthcare - $9.23 million average cost of a data breach: Data breaches in the healthcare industry were the most expensive with an average cost of $9.23 million. A data breach in the healthcare industry was almost $4 million more expensive than any other industry. 

Financial - $5.72 million average cost of a data breach: The financial industry was the second most expensive, with the average cost of a data breach costing $5.72 million. The average cost of a data breach has actually decreased since 2020, going from $5.85 million to $5.72 million. 

Pharmaceuticals - $5.04 million average cost of a data breach: Data breaches in the pharmaceutical industry complete our top three, with the average cost of a data breach sitting at just over $5 million. The average cost of a pharmaceutical data breach has narrowly decreased since 2020 when it was $5.06 million. 

The Effects of Remote Working on Data Breaches

With more and more employees choosing to work from home how does the percentage of remote employees affect the cost of a data breach?

△ 81% to 100% - $5.54 million: Data breaches to companies with the highest percentage of remote employees were the most costly in 2021. For companies with 81% to 100% of remote employees, the average cost of a data breach was just over $5.5 million. 

△ 61% to 80% - $4.39 million: Companies with 61% to 80% of remote employees experienced the second-highest cost of a data breach. Between this range, the average cost of a data breach was just under $4.4 million. 

△ 10% to 20% - $4.21 million: At the other end of the spectrum, companies with just 10% to 20% of remote workers experienced the third-highest average data breach cost. Between 10% and 20%, data breaches cost, on average, $4.21 million. 

The Countries Most Commonly Targeted by Data Breaches

United States takes 7,221,177 breaches per 1 million people. The United States takes first place with over seven million breaches per million people. A total of 2.4 billion breaches have happened in the US, with 30 million happening in 2022, and 452 million happening in the last three years.

For France in second place, there are 6,488,574 breaches per 1 million people.  France had a total of 419 million data breaches, almost 16 million of these came in 2022, with 66 million of France’s total coming in the last three years. 

South Sudan takes 6,184,061 breaches per 1 million people. Completing our top three is South Sudan with over 6 million breaches per 1 million people. South Sudan had almost 67.5 million breaches in total, with 10 million of these coming in the last three years. 1 million of these came in 2022 alone. 

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