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Shadow AI is the $670,000 problem most organizations don’t even know they have.

IBM’s 2025 Cost of a Data Breach Report, released today in partnership with the Ponemon Institute, reveals that breaches involving employees’ unauthorized use of AI tools cost organizations an average of $4.63 million. That’s nearly 16% more than the global average of $4.44 million.

Visa’s $3.5B Bet on AI

The research, based on 3,470 interviews across 600 breached organizations, reflects how quickly AI adoption is outpacing security oversight. While only 13% of organizations reported AI-related security incidents, 97% of those breached lacked proper AI access controls. Another 8% weren’t even sure if they’d been compromised through AI systems.