average breach cost in IBM's 2026 Cost of a Data Breach report: $4.99M global and $11.5M US
$4.99M global / $11.5M USobserved
| Value kind | observed — Reported measurements, counts, and specifications keep the precision and scope stated by their source; an exact specification is not treated as a range. |
|---|---|
| Scope | One IBM/Ponemon report vintage (2026). The global average rose 12% from $4.44M in the 2025 report; AI-enabled malicious breaches averaged $6M. Do not mix 2025 and 2026 values. |
| As of | 2026 |
| Source | IBM/Ponemon Cost of a Data Breach 2026 (IBM release 2026-07-29; IBM Think data-breach topic page) · IBM Think, What is a data breach: global average USD 4.99 million; United States USD 11.5 million |
| Review | checking…review by 2027-08-15 · fast cadence |
| Recorded changes | last 2026-10-12 · 4 revisions tracked |
| Claim id | average-breach-cost-global-down-9-to-4-44m-us |
Where the guide uses it
← Full numbers register — every date-stamped figure in the guide, with revision history.