News release: “The Ponemon Institute proudly presents the 2010 U.S. Cost of a Data Breach, the sixth annual study concerning the cost of data breach incidents for U.S.-based companies sponsored by Symantec Corporation. The average organizational cost of a data breach increased to $7.2 million and cost companies an average of $214 per compromised record, markedly higher when compared to $204 in 2009. The study also found that for the second straight year organizations’ need to respond rapidly to data breaches drove the associated costs higher. The sixth annual Ponemon Cost of a Data Breach report is based on the actual data breach experiences of 51 U.S. companies from 15 different industry sectors.”