A recent study revealed the fact that the total cost of a data breach has climbed 2.5% to $202 per record. The total average cost per company surveyed was of about $6.6 million per breach, a considerable growth compared to the $6.3 million in 2007 and $4.7 million in 2006.

The highest amount paid by a company to repair its brand image and retain customers after being hit with a data breach was of $32 million.

The Tucson-based research firm Ponemon Institute surveyed 43 organizations that were hit by data breaches in 2008 and the study showed that about $202 was spent on each consumer record compromised. The number of consumer records exposed in the surveyed breaches was of approximately 33,000 on average. However, the number of consumer records that were actually affected in each breach ranged from about 4,200 to about 113,000.

Of the average $202 per record cost, $139 was due to the loss of businesses after the breach, 69% of the total cost per record, up from 67% in 2007 and 54% in 2006. The results of the survey emphasize once more, if needed, that organizations must focus on protecting their data.

“Organizations must focus on proactively protecting their data instead of relying exclusively on written policies, procedures, and training," the report said.

Of the 43 organizations included in the survey, 84 percent had suffered at least one data breach or loss before 2008.

"Some of the best news out of this survey is that churn is really happening," Ponemon said. "People really do care when organizations screw up and lose their data."

There were some indicators that the survey did not study. Among those were the impact a data breach has on the company’s shares price (Heartland Payment Systems’ stock decreased 42% after a data breach was made public) and the cost of intellectual property lost after a data breach.