The average cost of a data breach in the Middle East reached $8 million in 2026, according to IBM’s latest Cost of a Data Breach Report.

The regional average increased from $7.29 million in 2025 and remains well above the global average of $4.99 million.

IBM analyzed breaches experienced by 602 organizations across 16 countries and regions between March 2025 and February 2026. The Middle East findings included organizations in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. IBM’s Middle East analysis, identified the following regional findings:

• Financial and technology organizations in the Middle East recorded the highest average breach costs at $10.67 million.
• Industrial organizations followed, with an average cost of $9.6 million.
• Lost business was the largest regional cost category, averaging $3.57 million per breach.
• Only 35% of breached Middle East organizations encrypted sensitive data both at rest and in transit.
• Excessive privileges and poor role management were among the leading factors associated with higher breach costs in the region.
• Phishing was the most common initial attack vector, accounting for 18% of regional breaches and costing $10.41 million on average.
• Social engineering accounted for 16% of breaches, with an average cost of $7.32 million.

Sensitive Data Remains a Primary Target

Globally, customer personally identifiable information was the most frequently compromised data type. It was involved in 52% of the breaches studied and cost an average of $192 per record.

Employee personal information was compromised in 35% of breaches, while intellectual property appeared in 32%. Intellectual property was the most expensive data type in the report, costing an average of $196 per record.

These findings show the financial impact of exposing information that employees, contractors and other authorized users access during their daily work.

Phishing, social engineering and valid-account abuse can give attackers access through legitimate accounts. Once access is obtained, sensitive information may be viewed and handled through the same applications and workflows used by authorized employees.

The report also found that nearly 10% of breaches involved data being replicated through removable media, showing that information can still leave controlled environments through relatively simple methods.

Data Protection Must Continue While Information Is in Use

Encryption remains essential for protecting data at rest and in transit. However, sensitive information must eventually be decrypted and displayed before an authorized user can work with it.

At that point, the data can potentially be copied, photographed, captured, recorded or printed. These actions may fall outside controls designed primarily to protect stored files, network transfers or managed endpoints.

Organizations therefore need to consider the full data lifecycle:

• Where sensitive information is stored
• How it moves between systems
• Who is authorized to access it
• How it is protected while visible and in use
• Whether exposure can be traced back to a specific user or session

IBM’s findings reinforce the cost of losing control over sensitive information. Protecting data at rest and in transit remains critical, but protection should not stop when the data appears on a screen.