The average data breach cost rose to $4.45 million in 2023, requiring an average of 277 days to contain. Many statistics hide this scale of impact, just as one in five U.S. adults experiencing mental illness is a headline that reveals little on its own. This article examines how numbers are selectively framed to support a narrative.
Key Takeaways
- 1 in 10 adults in the United States reported using illicit drugs in the past month (2021)
- 14.7% of U.S. adults reported having a depressive disorder in 2021
- 1 in 5 U.S. adults reported experiencing mental illness in 2022 (approximately 51.5 million)
- Average cost of a data breach was $4.45 million in 2023
- U.S. residents reported losing $10.3 billion to fraud in 2023
- U.S. victims reported $8.8 billion in 2022 to IC3
- Time to identify and contain a breach was 277 days on average in 2022
- Organizations that use zero trust had 34% fewer breaches in 2023
- 41% of breaches involved stolen credentials (2023)
- Phishing accounted for 36% of breaches in 2023 (DBIR)
- A total of 214,326 phishing sites were detected globally on an average day in 2020
- 83% of organizations were affected by a data breach in 2022 (industry survey)
Nearly everyone faces rising cyber and mental health risks, from data breaches and fraud to depression and anxiety.
Related reading
01 · Category
User Adoption21 stats
01
1 in 10 adults in the United States reported using illicit drugs in the past month (2021)
02
14.7% of U.S. adults reported having a depressive disorder in 2021
03
1 in 5 U.S. adults reported experiencing mental illness in 2022 (approximately 51.5 million)
04
15.3% of U.S. adults reported any illicit drug use in the past year (2021)
05
31.0% of adults aged 18–24 reported current illicit drug use in their lifetime (2023)
06
8.0% of U.S. adolescents (ages 12–17) reported using illicit drugs in the past year (2022)
07
2.8 million people aged 12 and older reported using cocaine in the past year in 2022
08
3.6 million people aged 12 and older reported using psychotherapeutic drugs nonmedically in the past year in 2022
09
60% of U.S. adults reported having heard of COVID-19 vaccine mandates by 2021
10
73% of Americans reported feeling at least somewhat concerned about getting COVID-19 in 2021
11
46% of U.S. adults said they have used a health app at some point (2021)
12
21% of U.S. adults reported using a wearable device to monitor health (2021)
13
67% of marketers said they use or plan to use generative AI for content creation (2024)
14
63% of organizations reported using at least one cloud service (2023)
15
52% of organizations used PaaS in 2023
16
35% of organizations used IaaS in 2023
17
58% of companies reported using a customer data platform (CDP) in 2022
18
46% of organizations reported using automated data quality checks in 2023
19
31% of enterprises reported using deception-detection or fraud detection tools in 2023
20
1 in 6 U.S. adults (16%) had symptoms of serious psychological distress in 2022
21
43% of U.S. adults reported experiencing at least one of the following: anxiety, depression, or stress in 2023
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
With mental health concerns affecting large shares of Americans, 21% of U.S. adults showed symptoms of serious psychological distress in 2022 and 43% reported anxiety, depression, or stress in 2023, while drug use also remains widespread with 15.3% reporting any illicit drug use in the past year in 2021.
02 · Category
Cost Analysis8 stats
01
Average cost of a data breach was $4.45 million in 2023
02
U.S. residents reported losing $10.3 billion to fraud in 2023
03
U.S. victims reported $8.8 billion in 2022 to IC3
04
Average breach cost for healthcare organizations was $10.1 million in 2023
05
Average breach cost for financial services organizations was $5.9 million in 2023
06
Average breach cost for retail organizations was $4.8 million in 2023
07
Average breach cost for manufacturing organizations was $4.1 million in 2023
08
The average breach cost for small businesses was $2.9 million in 2023
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
In 2023, data breaches averaged $4.45 million overall, but the burden varied sharply by sector with healthcare at $10.1 million, far above financial services at $5.9 million and retail at $4.8 million.
More related reading
03 · Category
Performance Metrics4 stats
01
Time to identify and contain a breach was 277 days on average in 2022
02
Organizations that use zero trust had 34% fewer breaches in 2023
03
41% of breaches involved stolen credentials (2023)
04
61% of breaches involved the use of stolen credentials (2022)
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
From 2022 to 2023, breaches involving stolen credentials stayed a major threat at 41% in 2023 and 61% in 2022, while organizations using zero trust saw 34% fewer breaches in 2023, even though the average breach identification and containment time in 2022 was 277 days.
04 · Category
Industry Trends8 stats
01
Phishing accounted for 36% of breaches in 2023 (DBIR)
02
A total of 214,326 phishing sites were detected globally on an average day in 2020
03
83% of organizations were affected by a data breach in 2022 (industry survey)
04
68% of organizations experienced at least one security incident in 2023
05
The IC3 reported 864,000 fraud complaints in 2023 (U.S.)
06
U.S. victims reported 800,944 complaints in 2022 (IC3)
07
In 2023, there were 1,016 major data breaches reported to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (calendar year)
08
In 2023, the probability of experiencing a breach within 2 years was estimated at 60% for large organizations (industry security risk analysis)
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Across recent years, breaches are both frequent and persistent, with phishing driving 36% of 2023 incidents and large organizations facing a 60% chance of experiencing a breach within two years.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Catherine Wu. (2026, February 13). Lying With Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/lying-with-statistics
MLA
Catherine Wu. "Lying With Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/lying-with-statistics.
Chicago
Catherine Wu. 2026. "Lying With Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/lying-with-statistics.
Sources & references
27 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+11 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)