Data Loss Statistics and Facts (2025)

Introduction

Data Loss Statistics: ​Data loss continues to pose significant challenges for organizations worldwide, with substantial financial and operational repercussions. In 2024, the average global cost of a data breach escalated to USD 4.88 million, marking a 10% increase from the previous year. The United States reported the highest average breach cost at USD 9.36 million, followed by the Middle East at USD 8.75 million. ​

The primary causes of data loss include hardware malfunctions (44%), human error (32%), software corruption (14%), and computer viruses (7%). Notably, breaches involving stolen or compromised credentials required an average of 292 days to identify and contain, resulting in higher associated costs.

The impact of data loss on businesses is profound; 51% of companies experiencing significant data loss shut down within two years, and 93% that lose data for more than 10 days file for bankruptcy within a year. These statistics underscore the critical importance of implementing robust data protection and recovery strategies to mitigate risks and ensure organizational resilience.

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• According to a report published by Rival Data Security, in 2024, each data breach cost companies an average of USD 4.88 million, which is approximately 10% more than the cost in 2023.
• By 2025, cybercrime is expected to result in annual losses of approximately USD 10.5 trillion, compared to USD 3 trillion in 2015.
• The healthcare industry had the most expensive data breaches in 2024, with an average loss of around USD 9.77 million per incident.
• Data Loss Statistics show that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMES) incurred an average loss of USD 2.98 million due to data breaches. Sadly, 6 out of 10 had to shut down within half a year after being attacked.
• It usually took organizations about 204 days to even notice a data breach and another 73 days to fix the issue completely.
• Companies that utilized AI and automation saved an average of USD 2.22 million in data breach costs, compared to those that did not use these tools.
• Over the last five years, ransomware attacks have increased by 13%, with each attack costing businesses an average of USD 1.85 million.
• Data breaches involving public cloud systems are the most costly, averaging USD 5.17 million per incident.
• In 2024, a mega-breach (involving 50 to 60 million records) cost companies around USD 375 million, which is USD 43 million more than in 2023.
• Around 68% of all data breaches in 2024 were caused by human errors, such as clicking on fake email links, also known as phishing.

General Data Loss Statistics

• Small businesses lose about USD 1,410 every minute their systems are down.
• It usually takes around 206 days before most companies even realise they’ve had a data breach.
• In recent years, the average cost of a data breach has been approximately USD 4.24 million.
• There were 1,862 reported security breaches in 2021, 754 more than in the previous year.
• Data loss was caused by hardware problems (40%) and human mistakes (29%).
• Approximately 26% of businesses experienced a data breach in recent years.
• Nearly 93% of companies that experience prolonged data loss ultimately go bankrupt.
• Malware is behind 35% of all data loss cases.
• Roughly 21% of files stored by companies are not protected in any way.
• After a ransomware attack, 22% of small businesses are forced to shut down.

Global Number of Data Loss User Accounts Statistics

Average Cost of Data Loss Statistics By Country/Region, 2024

Estimated Global Cybercrime Cost Statistics

(Reference: soax.com)

• According to data loss statistics, the cost of cybercrime in 2024 was USD 9.22 trillion, representing a 13.13% increase from the previous year, and is projected to grow to USD 10.29 trillion by the end of 2025, a 11.61% increase.

The coming year’s estimated cybercrime cost analyses are stated in the table below:

Number of Data Loss Accounts Statistics By Organizations

Total Cost Per Data Loss Statistics, By Industry

• According to Statista, from March 2022 to February 2024, the healthcare industry experienced the most expensive data breaches, with an average cost of USD 9.77 million.
• The financial sector followed, with each breach costing an average of USD 6.08 million.
• Across all industries, the global average cost of a data breach during this time was USD 4.88 million.
• In comparison, the public sector faced lower costs, with an average of USD 2.55 million per breach during the same period.

By Initial Attack Vector

• As of February 2024, data breaches caused by malicious insiders were the most expensive, with each incident costing an average of USD 4.99 million.
• Phishing attacks also resulted in high costs, with each case costing approximately USD 4.88 million. The same average cost was observed in breaches caused by business email compromise (BEC) during this period.

By Main Cost Segments

• Data Loss Statistics states that by February 2024, the average cost of a data breach worldwide was about USD 4.88 million.
• Out of this, approximately USD 1.63 million was spent solely to identify and report the issue.
• Approximately USD 1.47 million was lost by businesses due to the loss of customers or sales following the breach.
• An additional USD 1.35 million was allocated to address the aftermath of the attack, including assistance to affected individuals and enhancements to security.

Global Firms Experiencing Material Loss of Sensitive Data Statistics by Country

• A 2024 survey of Chief Information Security Officers (CISOS) from around the world found that around 80% of CISOS in South Korea reported that their company had lost important or private data in the preceding year.
• Canada came next, with 61% of CISOS reporting the same issue.
• When examining all the countries in the study, almost 46% of organizations reported losing sensitive information in the past 12 months.

All-Time Biggest Online Data Loss Cases Statistics

(Source: statista.com)

• As of January 2024, the biggest known data leak happened in March 2020. It involved Cam4, a webcam site, where 10.8 billion records were exposed online.
• The second-largest data breach to date occurred at Yahoo in 2013. Initially, the company reported that 1 billion accounts were affected.
• However, after further investigation, they discovered that the data losses had affected 3 billion accounts.
• Another major data leak happened in March 2018. This one involved Aadhaar, India’s national ID system, as it exposed personal details of over 1.1 billion people.
• In total, experts estimate that nearly 2.9 billion personal records have been compromised in these large data breaches.

Data Loss Statistics by Mean Time to Identify Breaches

• Long Detection Times: In 2024, organizations took an average of 194 days to discover a data breach.​
• Containment Efforts: Following detection, containment of the breach required an additional 64 days on average.​
• Overall Breach Lifecycle: The total time from breach occurrence to containment averaged 258 days in 2024.

Data Loss Victim Statistics by User Demographics, 2024

Types of Data Backups Do Businesses Use to Prevent Data Loss

• Cloud Backup (59%): Cloud backup refers to the process of storing data on online servers owned by a third-party company.
• Hybrid Backup (52%): Hybrid backup combines two types of storage, like cloud and local.
• Local Backup (22%): Local backup refers to storing data on devices such as USB drives or company-owned servers.

Top 5 Causes of Data Loss Statistics in 2024

• Hardware malfunctions, such as hard drive crashes or power surges, were responsible for 44% of data loss incidents.
• Unintentional actions by employees, like accidental deletion or overwriting of files, accounted for 32% of data loss cases.
• Issues such as software bugs, failed updates, or compatibility problems led to 14% of data loss events.
• Malicious software, including viruses and ransomware, caused 7% of data loss incidents.
• Events like floods, fires, and earthquakes were responsible for 3% of data loss cases.

Impact of Data Loss Statistics on Business

• Approximately 51% of companies that lose their data ultimately shut down within two years.
• Nearly 43% of businesses that experience data loss are never able to reopen.
• If a company loses its data for more than 10 days, 93% of them go bankrupt within a year.
• When a disaster causes a company’s data center to stop working for 10 days or more, over 93% of those companies file for bankruptcy within 12 months.

Data Loss Prevention Statistics

(Reference: statista.com)

• The revenue from the Data Loss Prevention (DLP) market is expected to increase significantly, from USD 1.24 billion in 2019 to approximately USD 3.5 billion by the end of 2025.
• In 2024, 60% of businesses implemented Data Loss Prevention software to protect sensitive information.
• However, 40% still faced risks due to inadequate security measures.
• Data Loss Statistics further represent that a global survey revealed that 85% of organizations encountered at least one data loss incident in the past year.
• More than 70% of data loss incidents were caused by human mistakes, such as sending emails to the wrong recipients or mishandling sensitive files.
• The global average cost of a data breach in 2024 was approximately USD 4.88 million,
• The Data Loss Prevention market is expected to expand significantly, with revenues projected to rise from USD 1.24 billion in 2025 to USD 3.5 billion by 2025.

Conclusion

Data loss is a significant issue that affects individuals and organizations worldwide. It can occur due to system crashes, human errors, cyberattacks, or even natural disasters. When important files or information go missing, it can cause stress, money loss, and even legal trouble.

In this article, we’ll look at key statistics that show how often data loss happens and why it’s important to protect your data. Understanding these facts can help individuals take more effective steps to protect their information and prevent significant issues in the future.