Friday, Jul 24, 2026 The claims desk. Receipts included. POWERED BY LENZ ↗
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The Claim

The average global cost of a cybersecurity data breach was estimated at $4.35 million in 2022.

Verified by Lenz ·

The Short Version

IBM's own 2022 press release explicitly states the global average cost of a data breach reached $4.35 million, directly confirming the claim. Multiple independent secondary sources corroborate this figure. The number derives from IBM/Ponemon's annual study sample rather than a census of every breach worldwide, but the claim's use of "estimated" accurately reflects this methodology. This is the standard, widely accepted figure for 2022 global average breach costs across the cybersecurity industry.

Caveats

  • The $4.35 million figure is based on IBM/Ponemon's study sample of organizations, not a comprehensive count of all global breaches.
  • Most corroborating sources repeat IBM's data rather than independently estimating the cost, so the figure reflects a single methodology.
  • Subsequent IBM reports show the global average has risen since 2022, so this figure should not be treated as current.

The Receipts

  1. Cost of a Data Breach Report 2025

    IBM

  2. IBM Report: Consumers Pay the Price as Data Breach Costs Reach All-Time High

    IBM

  3. Cybersecurity Insurance Market worth $17.6 billion by 2028

    PR Newswire / MarketsandMarkets

  4. Cybersecurity Market Report 2025-2030, by Application, Geo, Tech

    MarketsandMarkets

  5. Cost of a Data Breach Report 2022 | Key4biz

    Key4biz

  6. One in four companies globally have suffered a data breach that cost them US$1 - 20 million or more in the past three years - PwC

    PwC

  7. IBM Cost of a Data Breach 2022 – Highlights for Cloud Security Professionals

    Tenable

  8. Global cybercrime estimated cost 2025

    Statista

  9. Cost of a Data Breach Report 2022 According to IBM - Raz-Lee Security

    Raz-Lee Security

  10. Global spending on cybersecurity predicted to hit $1 trillion (USD) annually by 2031

    Cybersecurity Ventures / Evolution Equity Partners

+ 8 more sources — see the full list on Lenz

Filed Under

Cybersecurity Data BreachIBM Security