Regardless of the industries in which they operate, most organizations handle some type of sensitive data, like PII (personally identifiable information). If this information is not protected correctly, the resulting breaches can harm innocent people and, in many cases, cost massive amounts of money.

To uncover trends and learn about the extent of damage that can be done, Bitglass researched the three largest breaches of publicly traded companies from each of the last three years.

Key findings and analyses of these breaches can be found throughout the following pages. Additionally, large breaches of government and privately held organizations are described at the end of the report.

Publicly traded companies that are breached often experience a significant financial loss, along with an average of a 7.5% drop in stock value. In some cases, companies never make a recovery in the stock market and deal with legal cases that can last years. Cybercriminals repeatedly find ways to gain access to the data of public organizations and appropriate their sensitive information; however, these are not the only targets.

Many times, hackers attack private organizations (pre-IPO companies like Uber) and even government agencies like the NSA. Bitglass’ latest report also evaluates some of these attacks, highlighting the importance of finding a security solution that protects data on any device, anywhere, from any threat. The last few years have proven that any entity is susceptible to having its sensitive data compromised – even with applications’ native security tools.

To learn more about the biggest breaches in recent years and the effects they have had on organizations, download Bitglass’ Kings of the Monster Breaches.