2025 Data Breach Industry Forecast

Global data breaches show no signs of slowing. In fact, according to the 2024 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, there have been 10,626 data compromises in the first three quarters of 2024, more than doubling last year’s 5,199 total. Experian itself has supported more than 4,000 client data breaches in the first three quarters alone. According to our internal analytics, more than 66 million consumers globally were impacted by these data breaches from our client base in 2024—up 13 percent since last year.

No organization is immune from the fast-evolving, artificial intelligence-driven attacks from today’s sophisticated fraudsters. From July’s Disney’s Slack messages leak to Ticketmaster and BBC in May, even the largest brands are susceptible.

One critical issue for businesses is the rising costs of data breaches. According to IBM’s 2024 Cost of a Data Breach Report, the global average cost of a breach rose 10% from 2023, now standing at USD $4.88 million, the highest increase since the pandemic. Add to this the ancillary costs of lawsuits such as the $30 million settlement in September against DNA-testing company 23andMe over a genetics data breach that exposed the personal information of 6.4 million customers in 2023.