The Cost of a Cyberattack vs. The Cost of a Penetration Test

Cyberattacks are expensive. But preventing them isn’t.

Many companies hesitate to invest in cybersecurity—until they get hit with a breach. This article compares the real cost of a cyberattack vs. the cost of proactive security measures like penetration testing.

1. The Real Cost of a Cyberattack

💰 Average cost of a data breach: $4.45M (IBM 2023 report)
💰 Ransomware payments: Often $500K+, not including downtime costs
💰 Legal & compliance fines: GDPR & PCI fines can exceed $1M

2. The Cost of a Penetration Test

🔹 Basic pentest: $3K - $50K (depends on scope)
🔹 Red Team engagement: $50K - $150K
🔹 Social engineering test: $4K - $25K

📌 ROI of pentesting? Fixing vulnerabilities before hackers exploit them.

Final Thoughts

The question isn’t “Can we afford security testing?” It’s “Can we afford NOT to?”

Want to test your defenses before attackers do? Let’s talk