The real shift is not technological, it’s sociological. Most users, the nonexperts, will simply adopt whatever OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, Perplexity, Anthropic, or others give them, using those models like cognitive appliances: plug and play, nothing more, and they will share all the data they generate with these companies, that will exploit them (aka “monetize them”) to oblivion.Months ago, I warned about “shadow AI” : employees moving faster than their companies, using AI without permission or training, w ...

Core Insights - The average cost of a data breach in the U.S. has risen to $10.22 million, while the global average has decreased to $4.44 million [1][7] - There is a significant gap between AI adoption and its security governance, with only 49% of breached organizations planning to invest in security post-breach [1][13] Breaches and AI Security - 13% of organizations reported breaches involving AI models or applications, with 97% of those lacking AI access controls [6] - 60% of AI-related security incidents resulted in compromised data, and 31% led to operational disruptions [6] - Organizations extensively using AI in security operations saved an average of $1.9 million in breach costs and reduced the breach lifecycle by 80 days [3][4] Financial Impact of Breaches - The global average cost of a data breach fell to $4.44 million, marking the first decline in five years, while U.S. breaches reached a record high [7] - Healthcare breaches remain the most expensive, averaging $7.42 million, despite a $2.35 million reduction compared to 2024 [7] - Organizations that detected breaches internally saved an average of $900,000 in breach costs compared to those disclosed by attackers [7] Operational Disruption - Nearly all organizations studied experienced operational disruption following a data breach, with most taking over 100 days to recover [8] - Almost half of the organizations reported plans to raise prices due to breaches, with one-third indicating increases of 15% or more [9] AI Governance and Shadow AI - 63% of breached organizations lack an AI governance policy, and only 34% of those with policies conduct regular audits [7] - One in five organizations reported breaches due to shadow AI, with those using high levels of shadow AI facing $670,000 higher breach costs [7] Ransom Payment Trends - There is a growing trend of organizations refusing to pay ransom demands, with 63% opting not to pay compared to 59% the previous year [13]