As Threats Evolve, Cybersecurity Spending Surges (Dec. 22, 2015)
Global spending on cybersecurity will top $75 billion worldwide this year, 4.7 percent higher than 2014—and by 2020, the global cybersecurity market is projected to be worth $170 billion, according to a report by Forbes that cites multiple recent cybersecurity studies. The surge in spending is being driven by companies seeking to fortify their systems against the ever-evolving threat of data breaches and other cyberattacks. Government security initiatives and new legislation also have contributed to the upswing, the report said.
A September study by Gartner Inc. projects cybersecurity spending will reach $75.4 billion in 2015, with security testing, IT outsourcing and identity and access management among the highest-growth sectors. Meanwhile, endpoint protection platforms and consumer security software already are mature markets with high penetration, resulting in lower growth projections for those sectors, according to Gartner. A separate study by Cybersecurity Ventures predicts global spending on cybersecurity will balloon to $170 billion by 2020, from $77 billion this year, with some experts suggesting that estimate is conservative. Already, seven-figure cybersecurity deals have increased by 40 percent year-over-year, Cybersecurity Ventures said. And while the cost of bolstering cyber defenses can be high, the price of not doing so is even higher; global businesses are losing as much as $500 billion annually due to cyberattacks, according to the firm.
The banking and financial services sectors have been the top targets for hackers over the past five years, with IT and telecom, defense and oil and gas following close behind. Companies looking to protect themselves in the event of a cyberattack have increasingly turned to cybersecurity insurance, which is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the insurance industry, projected to increase to $7.5 billion in annual premiums by 2020—up from $2.5 billion this year, according to PwC.
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