$8 Million Average Data Breach Cost Hits Middle East Organisations
A new report from IBM has revealed that the average cost of a data breach in the Middle East reached $8 million in 2026. The study, part of IBM's Cost of a Data Breach Report, found that malicious breaches were becoming increasingly common and expensive to fix.
The report highlighted the growing use of AI by cybercriminals, with 26% of breaches being attributed to AI-enabled attacks. Organisations that made extensive use of AI and security automation saw an average breach cost $3 million lower than those who did not.
The financial and technology sectors were found to have the highest average breach costs at $10.67 million each, followed by the industrial sector at $9.6 million. Saad Toma, General Manager of IBM Middle East and Africa, warned that companies must invest in advanced threat detection and response technologies using AI and automation to stay ahead of emerging risks.