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AI-driven cyberattacks push average breach cost to nearly $5 million

IBM data breach research shows AI-driven attacks rose 56% year over year, adding about $1 million to the average cost.

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Artificial intelligence is changing the economics of cyberattacks, and the higher price is showing up in insurer relevant risk exposure, according to Insurance Journal citing IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach report. The average cost of a data breach reached a record nearly $5 million, with IBM calculating an average of $4.99 million, a 12.0% increase.

IBM said AI-driven attacks increased 56% over the prior year’s study and added about $1 million to breach costs. The company’s Suja Viswesan said AI is making attacks faster and cheaper, while breaches keep getting more expensive, and she pointed to the lag between discovery and remediation as a key driver of higher costs.

The report was based on Ponemon Institute research of 602 organizations affected by data breaches from March 2025 through February 2026, with interviews of more than 3,550 security and C-suite leaders. IBM found that 92% of organizations with an AI-related breach lacked proper AI access controls, while 85% of breached organizations said they plan to increase spending on security tools and governance.

Costs vary by geography and industry, IBM said. The U.S. average breach cost reached about $11.5 million, roughly double the global average, while healthcare was the most expensive sector at about $6.4 million, down from about $7.4 million, and malicious or criminal attacks accounted for 55% of all breaches, up almost 8% from the prior year.

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