2014 will be remembered for such highly publicised mega breaches as Sony Pictures Entertainment and JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sony suffered a major online attack that resulted in employees’ personal data and corporate correspondence being leaked. The JPMorgan Chase & Co. data breach affected 76 million households and seven million small businesses. IBM and Ponemon Institute are pleased to release the 2015 Cost of Data Breach Study: Global Analysis.

According to our research, the average total cost of a data breach for the 350 companies participating in this research increased from 3.52 to $3.79 million. The average cost paid for each lost or stolen record containing sensitive and confidential information increased from $145 in 2014 to $154 in this year’s study. In the past, senior executives and boards of directors may have been complacent about the risks posed by data breaches and cyber attacks.