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These Are the Countries Most (and Least) Prepared for Cyber Attacks

Published

7 years ago

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The stakes couldn’t be any higher in the global cybersecurity arena.

From Russia’s alleged role in the DNC hacks to this month’s revealing Vault 7 leak of nearly 9,000 CIA documents, it should now be clear that keeping data safe is of paramount importance for any organization. Leaks and hacks are causing irreparable damage across the board – and it is now more essential than ever before for individuals, organizations, and countries to be aware of common cybersecurity threats and how to prevent them.

Is Your Country Prepared for Cyber Attacks?

Today’s infographic comes to us from CompariTech, and it breaks down the countries most prepared for cyber attacks, as well as those that are the most susceptible targets for cyber criminals.

These Are the Countries Most (and Least) Prepared for Cyber Attacks

Perhaps the most interesting takeaway is that although the United States ranks high in terms of preparedness, it is also the number one target for web application attacks and cyber espionage. Further, the U.S. is the second-most targeted country in terms of DDoS (Denial of Service) attacks behind China.

With the average cost of a cyber attack in the U.S. sitting at a hefty $17.4 million, organizations and government departments can’t afford to run the risk of any type of information breach. This means that companies and organizations of practically any size should think about what they can do to beef up security, as long as mitigating these risks will outweigh the costs.

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Charting Grand Theft Auto: GTA’s Budget and Revenues

Dive into the GTA budget through the years, with GTA VI set to be the most expensive video game of all time.

Published

8 hours ago

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December 5, 2023

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A cropped chart comparing the GTA budget and revenue across three game titles.

Charting Grand Theft Auto: GTA’s Budget and Revenues

Over 10 years since the launch of Grand Theft Auto V (GTA V), the second most-sold video game in history, Rockstar Games has announced its sequel GTA VI will be “coming 2025.”

As the anticipation only grows for this next big entry in the franchise, we take a look at the GTA budget through the years. How much have the last two games cost to make, how much have they earned, and how do they compare with the latest entry?

Data for this visualization comes from Statista, TweakTown, and Twitch Metrics.

How Much Has GTA VI Cost to Make?

The GTA franchise has grown enormously in scale from humble beginnings as a top-down, 2D video game in 1997. Fifteen installments later, the upcoming release, GTA VI, is estimated to be the most expensive video game to be made yet.

Here’s a look at how much GTA VI and the last two major releases cost, and how much revenue they’ve earned as of August 2023.

YearTitleProduction Costs ($)Revenue ($)Copies Sold
2025 (est.)GTA VI$2B (rumored)N/AN/A
2013GTA V $265M$7.7B185M
2008GTA IV$100M$2B25M

In 2008, GTA IV cost around $100 million—already a budget that rivalled big Hollywood releases. However with 25 million copies sold, the game earned nearly $2 billion—a five-fold return on its production cost.

Five years later, GTA V (2013) cost more than $200 million to make—twice GTA IV’s budget. A decade after its release, GTA V has generated close to $8 billion, with hundreds of millions in annual revenue from subscriptions and in-game purchases—a model that its successor is sure to follow.

In fact, subscription fees and in-game purchases represented 78% of Take-Two Interactive’s (parent of GTA developer Rockstar Games) revenues in 2023.

Analysts estimate the to-be-released GTA VI’s costs at $2 billion, including marketing and other expenses. A massive open-world (set in the Miami-inspired “Vice City”), cutting edge graphics, and a reportedly brand-new game engine are all reasons for the game’s outsized budget.

For comparison, the current most expensive games to have been made include Red Dead Redemption 2 (also by Rockstar) and Star Citizen, both reportedly with a $500 million budget.

Meanwhile, Take-Two Interactive shares are up more than 50% for the year.

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