South Africa's more than 3,200 reported data breaches have cost the economy an estimated R142 billion, with experts warning that simple employee training could prevent many incidents.
South Africa's growing data breach crisis is costing the economy an estimated R141.96 billion a year, with cyber security experts warning that the losses amount to a series of preventable own goals that are undermining economic growth.
According to Cube ICT Solutions, the country's 3,219 reported data breaches during the 2025/26 financial year could be stripping as much as 1.81% from South Africa's gross domestic product (GDP), based on the latest Statistics South Africa estimate of GDP at R7.86 trillion.
The estimate is derived from the IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2025, which found that the average cost of a single data breach in South Africa now stands at R44.1 million.
Adriaan Venter, CEO of Cube ICT Solutions, warned that the true economic impact extends far beyond the direct costs of restoring compromised systems.
