The Rising Cost of Cyberattacks: Trends and Impacts across Industries

Cybersecurity incidents have escalated sharply since 2020, exposing organizations to mounting financial and operational risks. This study quantifies multi-year trends in five major attack classes, calculates the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of breaches, and evaluates how targeted security spe...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Saif Al-Deen H. Hassan, Ali Abulridha Rasheed, Alaa Abdulshaheed Mousa, Zahraa Abed Hussein, Bhavna Ambudkar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Ital Publication 2025-06-01
Series:HighTech and Innovation Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hightechjournal.org/index.php/HIJ/article/view/1175
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849388177239834624
author Saif Al-Deen H. Hassan
Ali Abulridha Rasheed
Alaa Abdulshaheed Mousa
Zahraa Abed Hussein
Bhavna Ambudkar
author_facet Saif Al-Deen H. Hassan
Ali Abulridha Rasheed
Alaa Abdulshaheed Mousa
Zahraa Abed Hussein
Bhavna Ambudkar
author_sort Saif Al-Deen H. Hassan
collection DOAJ
description Cybersecurity incidents have escalated sharply since 2020, exposing organizations to mounting financial and operational risks. This study quantifies multi-year trends in five major attack classes, calculates the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of breaches, and evaluates how targeted security spending mitigates losses across eight industries. Secondary data were extracted from authoritative sources (IBM, ENISA, and Ponemon). Descriptive statistics charted incident growth; Pearson correlation assessed the linkage between phishing volume and breach frequency; ordinary least-squares regression measured the effect of network, infrastructure, and identity-access investments on breach counts. Breaches rose at a 28.3% CAGR from 2020 to 2023. Healthcare incurred the highest mean cost per incident (USD 10.9 million in 2023). Phishing volume strongly correlates with breaches (r = 0.97, p < 0.05), while greater outlays on network and infrastructure security were significantly associated with lower breach rates (β = –0.18 and –0.22, respectively; p < 0.05). Unlike prior sector-specific studies, our cross-industry analysis blends global data with inferential modelling, producing actionable benchmarks that help decision-makers allocate limited cybersecurity budgets where they reduce risk most.
format Article
id doaj-art-c47ab3b0fae440eeb13d6bb23efdaf6f
institution Kabale University
issn 2723-9535
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Ital Publication
record_format Article
series HighTech and Innovation Journal
spelling doaj-art-c47ab3b0fae440eeb13d6bb23efdaf6f2025-08-20T03:42:23ZengItal PublicationHighTech and Innovation Journal2723-95352025-06-016210.28991/HIJ-2025-06-02-011The Rising Cost of Cyberattacks: Trends and Impacts across IndustriesSaif Al-Deen H. Hassan0https://orcid.org/0009-0003-3389-3052Ali Abulridha Rasheed1Alaa Abdulshaheed Mousa2https://orcid.org/0009-0006-8643-7060Zahraa Abed Hussein3https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3945-390XBhavna Ambudkar4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9744-836XDepartment Business Administrator, College of Administration and Economics, University of Misan, MaysanElectronic Computing Center, University of Misan, MaysanCollege of Dentistry, University of Misan, MaysanAl-Manara College for Medical Sciences, MaysanSymbiosis Institute of Technology, Electronic Computing Center, Pune, Maharashtra Cybersecurity incidents have escalated sharply since 2020, exposing organizations to mounting financial and operational risks. This study quantifies multi-year trends in five major attack classes, calculates the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of breaches, and evaluates how targeted security spending mitigates losses across eight industries. Secondary data were extracted from authoritative sources (IBM, ENISA, and Ponemon). Descriptive statistics charted incident growth; Pearson correlation assessed the linkage between phishing volume and breach frequency; ordinary least-squares regression measured the effect of network, infrastructure, and identity-access investments on breach counts. Breaches rose at a 28.3% CAGR from 2020 to 2023. Healthcare incurred the highest mean cost per incident (USD 10.9 million in 2023). Phishing volume strongly correlates with breaches (r = 0.97, p < 0.05), while greater outlays on network and infrastructure security were significantly associated with lower breach rates (β = –0.18 and –0.22, respectively; p < 0.05). Unlike prior sector-specific studies, our cross-industry analysis blends global data with inferential modelling, producing actionable benchmarks that help decision-makers allocate limited cybersecurity budgets where they reduce risk most. https://hightechjournal.org/index.php/HIJ/article/view/1175CybersecurityData BreachesHealthcarePhishing AttacksNetwork Security
spellingShingle Saif Al-Deen H. Hassan
Ali Abulridha Rasheed
Alaa Abdulshaheed Mousa
Zahraa Abed Hussein
Bhavna Ambudkar
The Rising Cost of Cyberattacks: Trends and Impacts across Industries
HighTech and Innovation Journal
Cybersecurity
Data Breaches
Healthcare
Phishing Attacks
Network Security
title The Rising Cost of Cyberattacks: Trends and Impacts across Industries
title_full The Rising Cost of Cyberattacks: Trends and Impacts across Industries
title_fullStr The Rising Cost of Cyberattacks: Trends and Impacts across Industries
title_full_unstemmed The Rising Cost of Cyberattacks: Trends and Impacts across Industries
title_short The Rising Cost of Cyberattacks: Trends and Impacts across Industries
title_sort rising cost of cyberattacks trends and impacts across industries
topic Cybersecurity
Data Breaches
Healthcare
Phishing Attacks
Network Security
url https://hightechjournal.org/index.php/HIJ/article/view/1175
work_keys_str_mv AT saifaldeenhhassan therisingcostofcyberattackstrendsandimpactsacrossindustries
AT aliabulridharasheed therisingcostofcyberattackstrendsandimpactsacrossindustries
AT alaaabdulshaheedmousa therisingcostofcyberattackstrendsandimpactsacrossindustries
AT zahraaabedhussein therisingcostofcyberattackstrendsandimpactsacrossindustries
AT bhavnaambudkar therisingcostofcyberattackstrendsandimpactsacrossindustries
AT saifaldeenhhassan risingcostofcyberattackstrendsandimpactsacrossindustries
AT aliabulridharasheed risingcostofcyberattackstrendsandimpactsacrossindustries
AT alaaabdulshaheedmousa risingcostofcyberattackstrendsandimpactsacrossindustries
AT zahraaabedhussein risingcostofcyberattackstrendsandimpactsacrossindustries
AT bhavnaambudkar risingcostofcyberattackstrendsandimpactsacrossindustries