A global study commissioned by IBM Security shows that the average cost of a data breach exceeded $4.2 million during the coronavirus pandemic, which the company pointed out is the highest in the 17-year history of its “Cost of a Data Breach” report.
The report is based on information collected from 500 organizations worldwide between May 2020 and March 2021. It analyzes real data breaches and calculates costs associated with incidents based on various factors, including legal, regulatory and technical activities, as well as loss of customers, employee productivity and brand equity.
The average cost of a data breach increased by nearly 10% compared to the previous year, from $3.86 million to $4.24 million, but IBM noted that “costs were significantly lower for some of organizations with a more mature security posture, and higher for organizations that lagged in areas such as security AI and automation, zero trust and cloud security.”
The annual IBM Data Breach Report indicated that Costs continue to soar for data breaches.
The study found that these are also important factors when it comes to detecting and containing a breach. The average number of days to identify and contain an incident was 287, seven days more than in the previous year.
The largest part of breach costs represented lost business. This accounted for 38% of the total, or roughly $1.6 million. “Lost business costs included increased customer turnover, lost revenue due to system downtime and the increasing cost of acquiring new business due to diminished reputation,” IBM explained.
Another noteworthy finding is that the cost of a data breach was more than $1 million higher in the case of incidents where remote work contributed to the breach. In addition, companies where more than half of their employees had been working remotely took 58 days longer to contain a breach compared to firms where less than half of the workforce had been working remotely.
For the 11th year in a row, healthcare organizations incurred the highest costs, $9.23 million on average per breach, up from $7.13 million. However, in the energy sector the average data breach cost dropped to $4.65 million from $6.39 million.
Nearly half of the analyzed breaches involved compromised personally identifiable information (PII). For PII records, the average cost per record was $180, and the overall average cost per record was $161, up from $146 in the previous year.
Roughly 8% of breaches analyzed for the report involved ransomware, and the average cost of these incidents was $4.62 million, and slightly higher for attacks involving destructive wipers.
The study is based on breaches where between 2,000 and 101,000 records were compromised. However, the report has a section on mega breaches — incidents where more than 1 million records were impacted.
Fourteen companies in IBM’s study experienced a mega breach, and costs ranged between $52 million for breaches impacting up to 10 million records and $401 million for the largest breaches, which involved up to 65 million records.
Costs of mega breaches are exponentially rising.

Helix22 is Designed To Be Quantum Immune – Start Your Integration on our Git
Helix22 delivers perfect security assurance due to our genius engineering team that has invented a new model for data security that required an innovative look at the problem. The approach we took was to protect the data itself. Almost all other data security products try to build a perimeter or being fanatic on user credentials. However, once the product is breached or a password is stolen, even if it is 2FA or encrypted, your firms data is in the clear.
You see, the Helix22 cryptography is embedded with the data itself through our inventive and patented cryptography of DNA BindingTM. Therefore, even if credentials are stolen the data cannot be exfiltrated. This means that all data is 100% protected regardless of the type of attack.
Another substantial advantage of Helix22, is that it protects all data whether at rest, in use or in transit. All communication apps for example, only encrypt data while in transit. Therefore, that encryption become useless for internal IT security or Artificial Intelligence or Machine Learning experimentation. All data generated during these massive computing exercises is equally protected in real time. Plus, the latency period for the Helix22 is exponentially less than any other security product, so it actually contributes to faster processing times.
The Helix22 is easy to install and runs on all platforms, programming languages, networks and devices.
Our Motto
“In Math We Trust”
In this protocol, we are truly a “zero-knowledge” server so your private communications and transmissions remain completely top secret. Even in the event that BLAKFX were subpoenaed, we can honor the request by just handing over the encrypted content…as that is literally all we have. Helix22 also only use keys just one-time and then destroys them. This way the data security is future forward prefect. Therefore, in our unique user-to-user encryption (U2U) world, there is no opportunity ever for any data leak.
The Helix22 data security SDK accomplishes the following:
- Protects all your firms data at rest, in use and in transit
- Renders ransomware threats obsolete
- Eliminates human error
- Eliminates all malicious or interior attacks
- Verifies original content i.e. minimizes the threat of impersonation attacks and deep fakes
- Reduces latency
- Installs with 5 lines of code
- Runs on any platform, network, device and in any programming language
- Protects all data equally as well on the cloud and at the edge
- Provides perfect future/forward secrecy
- Delivers “zero-knowledge” encryption
- Compatible with all cloud, 3rd party and vendor services
- Is quantum ready – so there’s no need to upgrade when the time comes
- Requires no employee training
- Exceeds all gov’t and banking standards
- Meets all international compliance regulations
D2D encryption
We can make this claim as the tech engineers at BLAKFX invented and patented a genuine device2device (D2D) encryption. We manage data security transmission through the truly brilliant and also patented universal Helix22 key service. The Helix22 encryption originates on your network or device, not just when the app is opened. This means, that when data arrives to our key server, it is already encrypted so all it needs to do is issue another key. Signal and Telegram cannot claim this level of security. This key will then only work with the intended device, which generates a matching key required to open the data. In this protocol, we are truly a “zero-knowledge” server so your communications and transmissions remain completely top secret. Even in the event that BLAKFX were subpoenaed, we can honor the request by just handing over the encrypted content…as that is literally all we have. Helix22 also only use keys just one-time and then destroys them. This way the data security is future forward prefect. Therefore, in our unique device-to-device encryption (D2D) world, there is no opportunity at all for any data leak.
This same protocol just described, can be the same with all your 3rd party vendors and suppliers. It does not matter in the least what platform they are running or what device they are using or even the type of data, it is all 100% protected. We do however, strongly advise that all firms involved be utilizing Helix22 due to the nature of the data content. Helix22 can ensure that whatever data they are generating is protected as well.
Let’s take it a step further. Even if your organization were a victim of an internal attack or a victim of malicious open source downloads, there is no reason for concern. Any data that has been forwarded, downloaded, copied or saved cannot be exfiltrated. Period. We have the technology industries foremost data packets which are protected with multi-layered, military grade encryption algorithms that have already proven the ability to withstand penetration testing from MI5 and quantum computing attacks.
One final practical genius of DNA BindingTM is in that it is immediately compatible with whichever system or software you are utilizing. Therefore, any organization can forward information to another and then discuss it and there is immediate privacy.
The BLAKFX Suite of Data Security Products
In addition to the fastest and most secure data protection product available in Helix22, we provide a full range of security products for an holistic approach.
We are on a mission to stop ransomware threats in 2021
Ransomware Auditing as a Service (RaaS): ransomware attacks have skyrocketed in the past year and currently represents the biggest threat to the data of government agencies, military, intelligence agencies as well as private enterprises. BLAKFX developed the first in the world Ransomware Auditing as a Service (RaaS) platform which allows our cyber security engineers to scan your network and simulate real-world ransomware attacks to test the prevention, detection and mitigation strategies of your organization and establish how resilient your network is to real ransomware attacks. After the scan we provide a comprehensive report and our recommendations for remediation.
If you are the victim of an actual ransomware attack, we are able to recover the data that has been hi-jacked during the attack and due to Helix22’s DNA BindingTM cryptography, restore it to its original state.
DARKHYDRA3 – Auditing/Penetration Testing: we provide cyber auditing & penetration testing services in order to identify the gaps in your network, cloud, communications, network appliances, wireless networks, laptops, desktops & mobile devices, website, backup and 3rd party applications and services. Once we scan your systems, we provide a comprehensive report and our recommendations for remediation.
MSS & Insider Threat Prevention: BLAKFX has a national security level Secure Operations Center that can monitor your network (via our Managed Security Service) for threats & vulnerabilities as well as your employees via threat behavioral analysis techniques in order to stop threats (including insider threats) before they become a problem for your network, data and organization.
TSCM: many organizations and government agencies are aware of the threats posed by hacking surveillance and data theft but are not aware that Technical Surveillance Counter Measures and Electronic Security are an essential component of overall risk mitigation. BLAKFX’s access to the most sophisticated equipment, military and intelligence community level RF frequencies monitoring expertise is unique in the world.
Physical Security: we offer overall physical security services and designs for your buildings, data centers, cloud providers, airplanes, vehicles and personnel security. We provide full physical security planning, insider threat detection and prevention, physical security audits, certification, and security awareness training.
Global Governments: (restrictions apply) Click here to request information & quotes
*Katim Ultra Secure Smartphone: part of the BLAKFX’s suite of secure products, we are pleased to offer governments, law enforcement, intelligence agencies, military forces globally and enterprises, a fully user2user encrypted phone, with secure messenger, secure email, secure news, secure audio/video calling & secure conference calling.
Blacklight & CyAn – OSINT: the Collection Platform provides real time comprehensive view of collected intelligence from various sources. The system allows for more effective operation management by allowing the operators to control all available intelligence gathering tools from a single, unified dashboard. By allowing centralized control, alongside presentation of key intelligence and insights the overall operational effectiveness is significantly increased.
The Analytics Platform system fuses all field intelligence meta-data and cyber intelligence content, as well as other data sources, to highlight and identify suspicious activity, important events and analyze suspects’ relationships and communications. The system can provide in-depth operational understanding in near-real-time to the field operations teams.
Pre-Crime, Data Fusion and Big-Data Analysis: a full range of capacity for big data analytics. Analyze billions of events, merge data from heterogeneous sources, reveal weak signals and understand the digital behavior of a target are some of the numerous features of the Analytics Center. It’s composed of modules like Analytics, Profile, Relational and Predictive.
LLDDS: Low Level Defender Drone System consists of three essential elements, the first of which is our Ground Based Sensor Node (GBSN). The GBSN employs a very low power, high sensitivity FMCW radar system, functionally integrated with a complementary video/IR detection and confirmation system. The GBSN is controlled by AI and by either a single on-site operator or via remote operator control over our fully secure Command, Control and Communications (C3) SatComm-based network. The second element in the System is a medium endurance, low-level, missile-armed defender drone. This critical airborne asset will provide: persistent or on-demand zone protection including airborne patrol, target identification, target confirmation, and attack. This unmanned, very capable platform is the attack and deterrent end of the LLDD defense chain. It is continuously and closely monitored and controlled by AI and a Controller/Operator – in real-time – via the LLDD C3 SatComm Network. Our highly automated and minimally manned concept employs proven off-the-shelf, ground-based and airborne sensors and platforms combined with proprietary BLAKFX technology.
Note: Items marked with * are available for enterprises as well
BLAKFX is Based on Success
Our founders, Robert Statica PhD and Kara Coppa, also founded Wickr, which is used by the US military and has never been hacked since its inception in 2012. The Helix22 data security SDK is several generations enhanced since then. Dr. Statica also delivered the encryption for the world’s most secure phone, Katim.
Founder – Robert Statica PhD Founder – Kara Coppa Founder – Alex Maslov MS, MBA
Co-Founders of Wickr KatimTM Ultra Secure Smartphone
Finally, the Helix22 encryption is quantum computing ready so no need to redo all your data security methodologies in a couple of years when everything else becomes obsolete.
We like to refer to Helix22 as “22nd Century Data Security.”
Helix22 – Zero Risk