--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Attackers are able to amortize the cost…" description: "\"Attackers are able to amortize the cost of exploit, malware, and infrastructure development across many targets.\" — Alex Stamos" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee2/alex-stamos-17456_able_attackers-are-able-to-amortize-the-cost_628237.jpg" --- # Attackers are able to amortize the cost of exploit… ![“Attackers are able to amortize the cost of exploit, malware, and infrastructure development across many targets.” quote by Alex Stamos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee2/alex-stamos-17456_able_attackers-are-able-to-amortize-the-cost_628237.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee2/alex-stamos-17456_able_attackers-are-able-to-amortize-the-cost_628237.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee2/alex-stamos-17456_able_attackers-are-able-to-amortize-the-cost_628237.jpg) > “Attackers are able to amortize the cost of exploit, malware, and infrastructure development across many targets.” [Alex Stamos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-stamos/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Attackers spread costs across many victims, making exploits cheaper per target. **In simple terms:** Hackers share costs across many targets. Key Takeaway Strengthen defenses, reduce attack profitability. Themes cybersecurity economics risk management Mood cautious analytical Type technical strategic When to use this quote - enterprise security planning - budget allocation - incident response Key Concepts cost amortization attack scaling Questions to Reflect On - How can you disrupt attackers' cost models? - What investments lower your risk exposure? A Different Perspective May underestimate targeted, high‑value attacks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Hacker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hacker/) [Infrastructure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infrastructure/) ## Related quotes > [Attackers have to be selfish on the pitch occasionally, but it's important not to exaggerate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arjen-robben/attackers-have-to-be-selfish-on-the-pitch-occasionally-but-it-s/) [Arjen Robben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arjen-robben/) > [In every team I have played with, and of all of the attackers I have played with, each one was different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edinson-cavani/in-every-team-i-have-played-with-and-of-all-of-the-attackers-i-have/) [Edinson Cavani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edinson-cavani/) > [We haven't had a strategic free kick all night. No one's knocked over attackers ad lib.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-atkinson/we-haven-t-had-a-strategic-free-kick-all-night-no-one-s-knocked-over/) [Ron Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-atkinson/) > [“You couldn’t be stabbed in the back if you faced your attackers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/you-couldn-t-be-stabbed-in-the-back-if-you-faced-your-attackers/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [I cannot stand at the back and our attackers go forward and there is so much big space. We all have to fit together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-matip/i-cannot-stand-at-the-back-and-our-attackers-go-forward-and-there-is/) [Joel Matip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-matip/) > [The Italian one is the toughest league of all for the attackers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-trezeguet/the-italian-one-is-the-toughest-league-of-all-for-the-attackers/) [David Trezeguet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-trezeguet/) > [The attackers are the people with bold, innovative ideas who are trying to disrupt the status quo and usher in a better way. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-case/the-attackers-are-the-people-with-bold-innovative-ideas-who-are-2/) [Steve Case](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-case/) > [I don't really care about statistics from other attackers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/klaas-jan-huntelaar/i-don-t-really-care-about-statistics-from-other-attackers/) [Klaas-Jan Huntelaar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/klaas-jan-huntelaar/) > [Those who cannot bravely face danger are the slaves of their attackers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/those-who-cannot-bravely-face-danger-are-the-slaves-of-their-attackers/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Hey!" Caleb snapped as he realized Nick was about to lock him on the outside with their attackers. He pushed the door open and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/hey-caleb-snapped-as-he-realized-nick-was-about-to-lock-him-on-the/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [We are always concerned with the great attackers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquinhos/we-are-always-concerned-with-the-great-attackers/) [Marquinhos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquinhos/) > [When defenders are up against top-class attackers, you really find out what they're made of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-sutton/when-defenders-are-up-against-top-class-attackers-you-really-find-out/) [Chris Sutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-sutton/) > [It happens to attackers that they have a longer or shorter period where they are not always efficient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/didier-deschamps/it-happens-to-attackers-that-they-have-a-longer-or-shorter-period/) [Didier Deschamps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/didier-deschamps/) > [The attackers are the people with bold, innovative ideas, who are trying to disrupt the status quo, and usher in a better way. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-case/the-attackers-are-the-people-with-bold-innovative-ideas-who-are/) [Steve Case](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-case/) > [Not only the attackers, but the defenders - it's on the attackers to prepare themselves to break through the strong defense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neymar/not-only-the-attackers-but-the-defenders-it-s-on-the-attackers-to/) [Neymar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neymar/) ## More by Alex Stamos > [There's always a momentum in how users do stuff. Making small changes can have huge knock-on effects for whole companies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-stamos/there-s-always-a-momentum-in-how-users-do-stuff-making-small-changes/) [Alex Stamos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-stamos/) > [The definition of hate speech in some countries is problematic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-stamos/the-definition-of-hate-speech-in-some-countries-is-problematic/) [Alex Stamos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-stamos/) > [There's a big focus in the security industry on incredibly sophisticated attacks and on very sophisticated threat actors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-stamos/there-s-a-big-focus-in-the-security-industry-on-incredibly/) [Alex Stamos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-stamos/) > [A lot of the people who are hacking on behalf of governments are doing so on a contract basis. And they also do other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-stamos/a-lot-of-the-people-who-are-hacking-on-behalf-of-governments-are/) [Alex Stamos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-stamos/) > [Too many companies are reluctant to share technical information about threats with each other, and most open platforms and tools don't see widespread adoption.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-stamos/too-many-companies-are-reluctant-to-share-technical-information-about/) [Alex Stamos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-stamos/) > [Almost every OS X server service offers weak or broken authentication mechanisms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-stamos/almost-every-os-x-server-service-offers-weak-or-broken-authentication/) [Alex Stamos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-stamos/) > [The nice thing about my job being CSO at Facebook is that it is well understood here that there is not a trade-off between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-stamos/the-nice-thing-about-my-job-being-cso-at-facebook-is-that-it-is-well/) [Alex Stamos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-stamos/) > [Tech companies are famous for providing freedom for engineers to customize their environments & experiment with new tools... allowing for this freedom helps creativity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-stamos/tech-companies-are-famous-for-providing-freedom-for-engineers-to/) [Alex Stamos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-stamos/) > [I have spent my career building and improving secure, trustworthy systems, and I am very proud to be working on security at Yahoo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-stamos/i-have-spent-my-career-building-and-improving-secure-trustworthy/) [Alex Stamos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-stamos/) > [What we're trying to do at Yahoo is build our products so they're safe and trustworthy, not just secure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-stamos/what-we-re-trying-to-do-at-yahoo-is-build-our-products-so-they-re/) [Alex Stamos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-stamos/) > [I generally use 'threat intelligence' when I'm talking about a product packaged and sold by a dedicated commercial entity and 'information sharing' as something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-stamos/i-generally-use-threat-intelligence-when-i-m-talking-about-a-product/) [Alex Stamos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-stamos/) > [For most companies, they don't want to ever talk about security unless it's an absolute emergency and they've had a breach. And I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-stamos/for-most-companies-they-don-t-want-to-ever-talk-about-security-unless/) [Alex Stamos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-stamos/) > [If you send emails to your spouse or your lawyer or family members, you want to have these messages be confidential.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-stamos/if-you-send-emails-to-your-spouse-or-your-lawyer-or-family-members/) [Alex Stamos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-stamos/) > [Usernames and passwords are an idea that came out of 1970s mainframe architectures. They were not built for 2016.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-stamos/usernames-and-passwords-are-an-idea-that-came-out-of-1970s-mainframe/) [Alex Stamos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-stamos/) > [We have perfected the art of finding problems without fixing real-world issues. We focus too much on complexity, not harm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-stamos/we-have-perfected-the-art-of-finding-problems-without-fixing-real/) [Alex Stamos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-stamos/) [Explore all 37 Alex Stamos quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-stamos/) ## More Able quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/) [Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/) > [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/) [Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/) > [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/) [Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/) > [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/) Greg Perry > [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/) [Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/) > [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/) [Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/) Browse all 17,257 Able quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Attackers are able to amortize the cost of exploit, malware, and infrastructure development across many targets.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alex Stamos" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-stamos/attackers-are-able-to-amortize-the-cost-of-exploit-malware-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Able" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-stamos/attackers-are-able-to-amortize-the-cost-of-exploit-malware-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee2/alex-stamos-17456_able_attackers-are-able-to-amortize-the-cost_628237.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee2/alex-stamos-17456_able_attackers-are-able-to-amortize-the-cost_628237.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ee2/alex-stamos-17456_able_attackers-are-able-to-amortize-the-cost_628237.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Attackers are able to amortize the cost of exploit, malware, and infrastructure development across many…” — Alex Stamos", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alex Stamos", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-stamos/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Attackers are able to amortize the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-stamos/attackers-are-able-to-amortize-the-cost-of-exploit-malware-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-stamos/attackers-are-able-to-amortize-the-cost-of-exploit-malware-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```