IBM Ponemon Cost of a Data Breach Report record 4.99 million AI-enabled breaches
The global average cost of a data breach hit $4.99 million in 2026, up 12% and a new high, per IBM's $IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report with the Ponemon Institute. AI-enabled breaches cost $6 million on average as AI-driven attacks rose 56% year over year.
IBM's 2026 Cost of a Data Breach Report, conducted with the Ponemon Institute, found the global average cost of a data breach reached $4.99 million this year, a 12% increase over the previous year and a new high. The increase was largely driven by detection, escalation and lost business costs, according to the report. Breaches involving AI carried a steeper price tag: AI-enabled breaches cost companies an average of $6 million, about $1 million more than the overall average, as attackers used AI tools to increase speed, scale and precision. AI-driven attacks increased 56% year over year, and one in four malicious breaches studied were AI-enabled. Within that category, AI deepfake and impersonation accounted for 45% of AI-driven attacks, while AI-generated malware made up 19%. Critical infrastructure sectors, particularly financial services and energy, saw the highest concentration of AI-driven attacks, at 62% of the total. The report is based on breaches experienced by 602 organizations globally between March 2025 and February 2026, IBM $IBM said. The gap between AI-enabled and average breach costs suggests companies are still building the detection tooling needed to catch AI-driven intrusions as quickly as conventional ones, since slower detection and escalation are the main drivers IBM cites for the added cost.