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IBM released its annual Cost of Data Breach Report (PDF), revealing the average cost of a data breach to come in at a staggering $4.88 million. Compiling information from 604 companies representing 17 different industries in 16 countries, it paints a grim portrait of cybersecurity today—with the cost of a breach up 10% over last year.

The report is the 19th in the series, with research conducted independently by Ponemon Institute. Apart from the spike in the cost of an average data breach, the report also highlights the success teams have found implementing AI and automation in their security. These mitigation efforts lowered breach costs by as much as $2.2 million in some instances.

Pornography giant BangBros exposed 11 million private user records on an unsecured online database. On June 6th, researchers found over 8 GB of sensitive user information—including IPs, usernames, locations, feedback messages, and model performance statistics. The Elasticsearch database had already been indexed by search engine crawlers.

Security experts are concerned that this data was accessed by threat actors who could combine it with other information to cause embarrassment, social stigma, and other serious issues for users. The Miami-based company likely exposed the Elasticsearch instance inadvertently through a configuration error. Many similar errors have led to company secrets and user data being exposed in the past.

The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Department of Homeland Security’s antihacking group, announced its first head of AI on Thursday. Their choice? Lisa Einstein. She has consulted the White House on testing AI tools, advised the CISA on AI threats, and has a long track record in the world of think tanks.

This comes after Jen Easterly, CISA’s director, compared AI to nuclear weapons. Einstein herself has offered a hopeful vision, saying in a statement, “We will only reap the benefits of AI and avoid harms from its failure or abuse if we work together to prioritize safety, security, and trustworthiness. I am honored to serve with the dedicated and talented CISA team to tackle this important challenge.”

Interesting Read

The line between technology and the human body continues to blur, and the process is giving rise to the age of bio-hacking. At least, that’s the argument of Len Noe, writing in The Hill. In this piece, Noe describes their own journey researching how to use implanted tech to wirelessly download malware on other devices and skim a badge, among other devious tactics.

The implications of this are enormous. That’s why governments around the world are already gearing up to prevent bio-hacking from others and to advance the technology for their own purposes. It’s a fascinating read that feels like science fiction.

Twitter Highlights

Employment Tip: Follow Up

After networking interactions, job interviews, and other touchpoints, it’s critical follow up. Don’t assume that it is the other person’s responsibility. Even a short expression of gratitude and interest in future collaboration can be enough to make a difference.

For the latest openings in cybersecurity careers, check CybersecurityHQ.

Stay Safe, Stay Secure.

The CybersecurityHQ Team