The Rising Cost of Data Breaches: Insights and Solutions with Kron PAM and DAM&DDM

Data breaches continue to pose a significant threat to businesses globally, with their cost and frequency escalating year by year. According to IBM’s 2024 Cost of a Data Breach Report, the global average cost of a data breach has surged to an unprecedented $4.88 million, a 10% increase from 2023. Factors such as shadow data, longer breach lifecycles, and increasingly sophisticated attack vectors exacerbate the challenge, leaving organizations struggling to mitigate risks. In this context, Kron PAM and Kron DAM&DDM offer a robust, integrated approach to addressing these challenges.

Key Findings from IBM’s 2024 Report

The 2024 report reveals several alarming trends. The global average breach cost increased by 10%, with healthcare breaches costing $9.77 million on average. Shadow data contributed to 35% of breaches, leading to a 16% higher average breach cost. Breaches involving stolen credentials took 292 days to identify and contain, highlighting the need for faster detection mechanisms. Organizations extensively using AI and automation reduced breach costs by $2.2 million on average and shortened breach lifecycles by 100 days. However, a lack of skilled cybersecurity professionals increased breach costs by an additional $1.76 million for affected organizations.

Challenges Highlighted in the Report

Shadow data, often unmanaged and untracked, makes data environments vulnerable, with breaches involving shadow data incurring higher costs and taking 26% longer to contain. Phishing and compromised credentials remain the most prevalent attack vectors, relying heavily on human behavior and poor access controls. Despite AI’s effectiveness, only 31% of organizations report extensive use of AI in security, leaving significant gaps in prevention, detection, and response. Additionally, 70% of organizations reported significant operational disruptions post-breach, with average costs spiking by 7.9% for businesses facing severe disruption.

How Kron PAM and DAM&DDM Mitigate These Challenges

Kron DAM&DDM addresses shadow data risks through comprehensive data discovery and classification capabilities. This allows organizations to identify and manage shadow data across hybrid environments, secure data through encryption and role-based access controls, and proactively minimize exposure to vulnerabilities. Kron PAM enhances access controls by enforcing multi-factor authentication (MFA), just-in-time (JIT) access, and monitoring privileged user activities to detect anomalies. This reduces the 292-day breach lifecycle for credential-related attacks through faster detection and containment.

Kron’s solutions integrate AI-powered automation across security functions. AI-driven analytics flag suspicious activities, enabling faster incident response. Automated reporting streamline post-breach recovery efforts, saving time and resources. Additionally, Kron DAM&DDM and PAM simplify policy management and provide actionable insights, reducing reliance on large, highly specialized security teams.

Proactive Measures to Strengthen Security Postures

To stay ahead of the evolving threat landscape, organizations should adopt comprehensive data management solutions like Kron DAM&DDM for end-to-end visibility into data environments. Strengthening privileged access controls through Kron PAM helps secure critical systems and reduce credential misuse. Investing in AI enhances efficiency and accelerates breach detection and containment. Regular training equips teams to identify and respond to phishing and other common attack vectors. Organizations should also develop incident response plans using Kron’s tools to simulate breaches and rehearse responses, ensuring readiness for real-world incidents.

Conclusion

The rising cost of data breaches calls for a paradigm shift in how organizations approach cybersecurity. By aligning with the insights from IBM’s 2024 report and implementing advanced solutions like Kron PAM and DAM&DDM, businesses can significantly reduce their risk exposure, protect their data, and safeguard their reputation in an increasingly hostile digital landscape.

*Written by Serdar Torun. He is a Product Manager at Kron.