IBM Security's Cost of a Data Breach Report 2020 revealed that the cost of data breaches has risen over the past year, and companies in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia can now expect to spend approximately US$6.53 million whenever private and confidential information is compromised. The cost for the two countries has risen by 9.5% over the past year which has adversely impacted the regional market with an average breach cost surpassing the global average of US$3.86 million. The report, which hinges on an in-depth analysis of real-world security incidents taking place between August 2019 and April 2020, also found that firms in the healthcare industry incurred the highest per record cost of a data breach, followed by those in the financial services and technology sectors.