News Summary

A recent report from IBM reveals that Canadian businesses are facing significant financial losses due to data breaches, with an average cost of $6.98 million per breach in 2025. This marks a 10.4% increase from the previous year. The report, based on over 3,470 interviews across 600 organizations, identifies phishing scams as the most common and costly attack vector, accounting for an average loss of $7.91 million per breach. The financial sector suffered the highest losses, nearly $10 million, while pharmaceutical and industrial sectors lost approximately $8 million each. The report also highlights the impact of ‘shadow AI,’ unauthorized AI tools, which have increased breach costs by $308,000 per business. IBM suggests that companies adopting security AI and automation can reduce breach costs significantly, identifying breaches within 118 days on average, compared to 162 days for others. This advocacy aligns with IBM’s plan to invest over US$150 billion in AI technology over the next five years.