Study indicates average cost of data breach increases to $3.7 million

Legal damages accounted for the majority of the $3.7 million average cost per data breach that occurred between 2009 and 2011, notes a new whitepaper from NetDiligence, based in Philadelphia. Cyber Liability & Data Breach Insurance Claims: A Study of Actual Payout for Covered Data Breaches explores 137 cyber liability insurance policy claims that occurred between 2009 and 2011 and were provided by major underwriters of cyber liability. Cost averages are based on 58 events, for which the insurer provided a detailed breakout of what was paid on the claim.