Artificial intelligence (AI)-powered cyberattacks are becoming significantly more expensive for businesses, with organisations losing an average of $6 million per breach, about $1 million more than the global average cost of a data breach, according to a new report by IBM.

The technology company disclosed the findings in its 2026 Cost of a Data Breach Report, revealing that one in four malicious data breaches now involves AI-powered attack techniques, highlighting the growing financial impact of artificial intelligence on the global cyber threat landscape.

According to IBM, organisations targeted by AI-enabled cyberattacks incur average losses of $6 million per incident, compared with the overall global average data breach cost of about $5 million. The higher cost reflects the increasing sophistication, speed and scale of attacks powered by generative AI.

IBM: AI drives up cost of cybercrime

IBM said cybercriminals are increasingly leveraging generative AI to automate phishing campaigns, develop more sophisticated malware and create convincing deepfake content capable of bypassing traditional security controls.

These capabilities allow attackers to launch highly targeted attacks more quickly while making them harder for organisations to detect and contain.

The findings suggest that as AI becomes more accessible, businesses face greater financial exposure from cyber incidents, particularly where organisations lack advanced detection and response capabilities.

IBM warned that financial institutions, telecommunications companies, healthcare providers, government agencies and other operators of critical infrastructure remain among…