US$ 100 billion spending on cybersecurity by 2020

According to ABI Research, cyber protection for critical infrastructure is becoming an acute prerogative for nation states as high profile attacks against sensitive sectors show no signs of abating. The financial, energy, and defense sectors remain the most targeted sectors by malicious threat actors. Substantial criminal means are being deployed to break payment and banking institution resistance, and considerable pressure is being levied by hostile political entities against the defense industry. Energy sector attacks are seeing a spectacular rise in illegitimate access and disruption through industrial control systems.

ABI Research calculates that cybersecurity spending for critical infrastructure protection will reach US$ 109 billion globally by 2020. The majority of spending will focus on securing the financial sector and the ICT infrastructure, with the North American and European regions pumping the most into network, systems, and data security.

Michaela Menting, ABI Research Cybersecurity Practice Director, commented: “Information technology spending with dominate cybersecurity investment for critical infrastructure protection to the detriment of securing operational technologies as found in industrial settings”. This will benefit the healthcare and public security sectors, but unfortunately utilities companies will be the least well served in terms of improving operational and industrial security.

Adapted from a press release by Emma McAleavey.

Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/drilling-and-production/29102014/cybersecurity-spending-for-critical-infrastructure-1511/