From CompliNEWS | Financial Service Intelligence Watch
Average data breach cost soars to R53.1m in South Africa
The average cost of a data breach in South Africa has surged to R53.1 million in 2024, according to IBM’s annual Cost of a Data Breach Report. A Tech Central report notes that stolen or compromised credentials were the most common initial attack vectors, accounting for 17% of all cyberattacks and costing an average of R56 million per breach. Phishing attacks represented 12% of breaches, also averaging R56 million per incident, while business email compromise was the most costly at R63 million per attack, making up 10% of breaches.
IBM SA GM Ria Pinto highlighted the urgent need for enhanced cybersecurity measures amid escalating cyber threats. The report noted a significant increase in the deployment of AI-driven security solutions, with 78% of local organisations using AI-infused tools, a 10% rise from last year. These organisations saw an average reduction of R19 million in breach costs, underscoring the importance of advanced security technologies in protecting South Africa’s digital infrastructure.
Despite the growing cyber threats, experts are drawing attention to the government’s slow approach to regulation and enforcement, emphasising the critical need for stronger cybersecurity policies and frameworks to safeguard sensitive data and national security.
40% of data breaches involved data stored across multiple environments. Breached data stored in public clouds incurred the highest average breach cost at USD 5.17 million.
Read the Full Tech Central report here
SA’s government and its cybersecurity ecosystem face significant challenges in advancing and enforcing regulations. Failure to do so could increase vulnerabilities and cause the country to fall further behind globally. An IT Web report notes that according to cybersecurity and financial services professionals, the country’s slow approach to regulation and enforcement is just one of many issues that need attention. At the 4 Digital Dawn event, presented by the South African ICT Association in partnership with Nedbank and the Flanders Investment & Trade agency, Elmarie Biermann, founder and director of the Cybersecurity Institute, highlighted a common misconception: many organisations believe that compliance with data protection and cyber security regulations equates to full protection. ‘This is not the case,’ said Biermann. ‘Regarding PoPIA, the Information Regulator is really showing some teeth, and that is going to grow in terms of the Act. But compliance, in most cases, is a tick-box exercise and does not equal security.’ Biermann added that ‘there’s no endpoint’ to managing cyber risk. ‘It isn’t a final destination; it is a continuous cycle.’ Biermann pointed out that the government’s cybersecurity strategy is still not in place, despite the many years since they started developing it. She said in terms of incident response, SA has the Cybersecurity Hub, the country’s National Computer Security Response Team, but she rated it as ‘dysfunctional’. According to Biermann, sectors like banking and communications are making an effort to strengthen Cyber Incident Response Teams, build threat intelligence and leverage bodies like the South African Banking Risk Information Centre and the Communication Risk Information Centre.