Frost & Sullivan forecasts cybersecurity spending in global commercial and public sectors to reach $68.01 billion by 2030. Drivers are the ongoing threat of cyberattacks and government rules concerning privacy policies and data protection.
The surge in digital infrastructures, mobile users, and wireless network usage is compelling organizations across sectors to embrace security convergence; holistic cybersecurity solutions are essential for comprehensive and integrated security risk management.
The study categorizes the security industry into seven broad verticals—border security, central government, critical national infrastructure (CNI), first responders, infrastructure, major events, and mass transportation—presenting key growth metrics for each segment and its sub-segments.
“Most organizations have run their physical and digital security teams, data, and systems as separate silos. While a move toward security convergence has been a common trend in the industry for a while, the momentum has accelerated in recent years as threats have become more multi-faceted and different systems are increasingly digitized and connected,” said Himanshu Garg, Industry Principal at Frost & Sullivan.
He predicts that traditional monitoring tools will continue to struggle to identify or monitor operational technology (OT) assets, necessitating solutions that are specifically tailored to identify, monitor, and mitigate irregular network activities.
He added that changing regulations across geopolitical boundaries are layering compliance requirements on top of the core need for security at a time when more devices than ever before are connected to networks.
“Compared to North America and Europe, Asia-Pacific has relatively fewer regulations to mandate cybersecurity. However, the private sector is expected to propel cybersecurity solution adoption amidst increasing awareness among policymakers and a growing number of cyberattacks.”
Near-term opportunities for security vendors
Border Security: Airports, maritime ports, and land borders remain major security concerns due to their critical importance to trade and commerce. Their interconnection with other industries such as transportation, energy production, and manufacturing is a significant factor in improving security measures.
Central Government: To tackle incidents, governments should be ready with an expert incident response team and a comprehensive risk assessment and management plan. They should also have suitable cyber liability insurance.
Critical National Infrastructure: The oil & gas industry needs to protect its OT infrastructure from cyber threats in all three business cycles: upstream (onshore, offshore), midstream (storage, transportation), and downstream (refining, distribution).
Infrastructure: Smart cities and banking and finance are the two sectors that spend heavily on security technologies such as IP cameras, video analytics, command and control software, and forensics and intelligence solutions.
Mass Transportation: Connected autonomous vehicles (CAVs) and mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) create new sets of vulnerabilities. Cybersecurity policies must be part of connected vehicles and not considered an add-on.