Breaches are common and costly — over a quarter of organizations have been hit via unpatched vulnerabilities, and prevention is far cheaper than remediation.

Surveys have found that over 27% of organizations globally (and ~34% in Europe) reported a breach tied to an unpatched vulnerability.

Why this matters:

1. Vulnerabilities are actively exploited — Attackers specifically target known flaws
2. Patching alone isn't enough — Many breaches happen before patches are applied, or because custom code has unique vulnerabilities no patch will fix
3. Prevention is cheaper than remediation — Cost of a breach (data loss, reputation, fines) far exceeds cost of secure development

Secure programming reduces vulnerabilities at the source, making systems resilient even when patches are delayed.