Infosecurity Europe has announced findings from research into the cybersecurity budgets of organisations, with 69 per cent of surveyed IT decision-makers citing that they have seen, or will see, their cybersecurity budgets increase between 10 and 100 per cent in 2024.
Almost one in five (19 per cent) of those surveyed are seeing or are expecting to see budgets increase between 30 and 49 per cent over the coming year.
Infosecurity Europe’s Advisory Council member Mun Valiji said: “We continue to see pragmatic budgetary spending on cyber security under mounting macroeconomic pressures. The fast-changing threat landscape and tightening regulatory pressures have, in the main, seen security budgets benefiting from much-needed increases, which is positively received.”
For those who plan to increase their cybersecurity budget in 2024, cloud security and incident response will see the most significant injection, with 47 per cent noting that between 1 and 20 per cent of the additional investment will be spent in those areas. Additionally:
- 46 per cent said 1-20 per cent of their spending will go towards MSSP outsourcing and antivirus.
- 45 per cent of respondents said the same amount of spending will go on identity security management.
- A further 44 per cent are willing to invest between 1 and 20 per cent of their budget on education and training.
- 43 per cent of respondents are willing to invest the same amount of their budget on managed detection and patching.
- Whilst 41 per cent consider investing the same budget in AI-enabled cyber tools and consolidation.
Email security and threat exposure management seemed to be at the bottom of the priority list, with only 40 per cent saying they would invest between 1 and 20 per cent of their additional budget in these areas. This could be down to the budget injection in MSSPs and the potential to outsource these issues.
Infosecurity Europe’s Advisory Council member Ian Hill said that one primary consideration for cyber security spending in 2024 is the forecast, and in some cases, a significant increase in licences and associated support costs compared to 2023, either through direct price increases or the more insidious practice of licensed product scope manipulation.
“Add this to the continued rise in cyber professionals’ salaries, which makes outsourcing to an MSSP a more viable proposition for many businesses. SaaS, in particular, is seeing notable price increases, with many businesses ‘locked-in’ and with little choice but to bite the bullet,” explains CISO, UPP Corporation,” he said.
For many, the increase in cyber security budgets reflects the escalating concerns regarding online threats and data breaches and the need to fortify defences against cyberattacks.
Against this backdrop, Infosecurity Europe 2024 will host a panel focusing on maximising budgets amidst turbulent times. It will offer a vital platform for CISOs and cybersecurity professionals to glean insights on topics such as articulating the costs of cyber tools and communicating a business case to secure more for their budget. Attendees can also explore new strategies to optimise their security expenditure, including conducting an audit of existing systems, securing more value from what’s in place already, and investing in people rather than new systems.
Infosecurity Group Exhibition Director Nicole Mills said cybersecurity is all-encompassing, and no business, organisation, or individual is risk-free.
“The industry continues to grow, threats evolve, and so do the innovative products developed to protect against them. The conference provides a springboard for industry leaders, experts, and vendors to join heads and join forces, to collaborate, and to share experiences and knowledge. Peers come together to debate and discuss critical topics to find solutions to problems and implement solid cybersecurity strategies. This year, Infosecurity Europe 2024 will continue to forge a future of innovation, collaboration, and resilience,” she said.
The research also highlighted that the tables had turned for some, with 15 per cent of IT decision-makers highlighting that their security budgets had decreased, or will, in 2024. Only four per cent had seen or expect to see no change in their budget for 2024.
The research comes as visitor registration for Infosecurity Europe 2024 has opened, with the findings indicative of some of the themes and discussions lined up for this year’s conference, which will run from Tuesday 4 -Thursday 6 June 2024 at ExCeL London.
Cybersecurity professionals and members of the infosec community are invited to sign up and secure their place to hear more about the pressing issues topping the agenda at this year’s event.
