Energy sector reported the costliest breaches across industries at SAR 36.90 million on average. AI/Automation deployments cut breach costs by SAR 12.31 million

Dubai, UAE. 26 August 2024 – — IBM (NYSE: IBM) released its annual Cost of a Data Breach Report revealing the average cost of a data breach for businesses in the Middle East reached SAR 32.80 million in 2024. This represents an increase of nearly 10% this year, from SAR 29.90 million in 2023. According to the organizations analyzed, the top three factors that amplified breach costs for local businesses were security skills shortages, non-compliance with regulations and security system complexity.