$96 billion to be spent on cyber security in 2018

Cyber security providers are set to cash in as global security spending is predicted to reach $96 billion (£71 billion) by 2018. According to Gartner’s latest forecast organisations are already spending more on security as a result of regulations, shifting buyer mindset, awareness of emerging threats and the evolution to a digital business strategy.

"Overall, a large portion of security spending is driven by an organization’s reaction toward security breaches as more high profile cyberattacks and data breaches affect organizations worldwide," said Ruggero Contu, research director at Gartner. "Cyberattacks such as WannaCry and NotPetya, and most recently the Equifax breach, have a direct effect on security spend, because these types of attacks last up to three years."

According to the report, security testing, IT outsourcing and security information and event management (SIEM) will be among the fastest-growing security subsegments driving growth in the infrastructure protection and security services arenas.

Regulatory compliance and data privacy have also been stimulating spending on security during the past three years, especially in the U.S. (with regulations such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and Overseas Citizenship of India) and most recently in Europe around the General Data Protection Regulation coming into force on May 28 2018.

Gartner forecasts that by 2020, more than 60 per cent of organisations will invest in multiple data security tools such as data loss prevention, encryption and data-centric audit and protections tools, up from approximately 35 per cent today.