As a government agency or jurisdiction, one of your goals is to build trust with the citizens you serve. You earn that trust by protecting their information from a government data breach. This also helps by making efficient use of taxpayer dollars. When a data breach does hit, both pillars are eroded. Your organization can serve the community better — and build their trust — by managing data breach prevention in advance and planning your response to reduce the consequences of a data breach.

The IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2020 found that breaches in the public sector averaged a cost of $1.6 million per breach, which is a 16% decrease from 2019. Compared to the other 16 industries included in the report, the public sector has the lowest cost. (Breaches in health care topped the list with an average cost of $8.6 million.) The government sector was even $1.3 million less than the transportation sector, which came in 15th place. However, the report includes the cost of lost customers, which may reduce the dollar amount cost because it’s less of a concern for the public sector than other industries.

Source -(securityintelligence.com)