Tarot readers working for analyst outfit Gartner claim that spending on cybersecurity will jump eight percent next year because of the spike in global breaches this year.
The analyst claims spending in 2018 will top $96 billion as end users protect themselves against threats, having seen the impact of WannaCry and NotPetya this year.
Gartner research director Ruggero Contu said a large portion of security spending is driven by an organisation’s reaction towards security breaches as more high-profile cyberattacks and data breaches affect organisations worldwide.
“Cyber attacks 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”, he said.
Gartner forecasts that services will make up over half of all security spending, at $57.7 billion. Services will also see greatest growth, at 8.8 percent.
The analyst claimed that regulatory compliance and data privacy have been “stimulating” security spending, citing GDPR and the US’ Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act as key factors.
One of the key drivers driving services spending is a global skill shortage which has forced organisations to turn to cybersecurity consultancies.
“Skill sets are scarce and remain at a premium and top organisations to seek external help from security consultants, managed security service providers and outsourcers,” he added.
“In 2018, spending on security outsourcing services will total $18.5 billion which is an 11 percent increase from 2017.
“The IT outsourcing segment is the second-largest security spending segment after consulting.”
