# Data breach cost 2026 averaged $4.99 million, AI attacks ran higher

> Source: <https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2026/07/30/ibm-cost-of-a-data-breach-2026/>
> Published: 2026-07-30 06:15:26+00:00

More than one in four organizations hit by a malicious attack over the past year say AI drove it. Those breaches averaged about $1 million above the malicious attacks that ran without AI. Defenders bought similar technology and aimed it somewhere else. Half of breached organizations put AI agents inside a security operations center, mostly on threat hunting, automated response and containment. Among that group, 18% aimed agents at vulnerability scanning and management, the work … [More ](https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2026/07/30/ibm-cost-of-a-data-breach-2026/)

The post [Data breach cost 2026 averaged $4.99 million, AI attacks ran higher](https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2026/07/30/ibm-cost-of-a-data-breach-2026/) appeared first on [Help Net Security](https://www.helpnetsecurity.com).