A new study by Juniper Research predicts a 107 per cent growth in the number of industrial endpoints featuring cybersecurity protection in the next five years.
The research identified the rise of interconnected processes within the Industry 4.0 revolution as increasingly exposing critical industrial infrastructure to external threats, requiring wholesale changes in how industrial stakeholders secure their operations.
Juniper Research defines an industrial endpoint as any physical or virtual device connected to a network to send and receive information in an industrial setting.
The research found that industrial endpoint cybersecurity spending will reach $7.8 billion by 2028, rising from $3.8 billion in 2023. This 105 per cent growth demonstrates how quickly the market is evolving and how industrial endpoint cybersecurity is rapidly becoming a priority for cybersecurity vendors.
Research co-author Nick Maynard commented: “As more processes become connectivity enabled, the threat environment within industrial settings is exponentially increasing. Cybersecurity vendors must partner with key industrial IoT vendors to better secure this problematic area.”
With the research forecasting that 21 per cent of industrial endpoints will be protected by endpoint cybersecurity services by 2028, this is ultimately a low proportion of total industrial endpoints.
As such, industrial stakeholders must move much faster to secure their critical operations, or they will face spiralling threats from nefarious actors. Boosting visibility in the industrial supply chain and optimising cloud security for critical operations will be vital to ensuring greater protection levels.
