Spending into critical infrastructure cybersecurity to surpass $105bn this year, according to new research.
ABI Research estimated in its new report that the average year-on-year growth of governments’ digital defence during the next year will be between 5% and 10%, representing about $9bn more than in 2020.
Michela Menting, digital security research director at ABI Research, said that a lot of the recent investment have been made to ensure critical personnel can continue to work remotely and securely, despite the pandemic.
“There is no denying that secure connectivity has become a key focus, not least with the revelations late last year of the SolarWinds Orion hack, which has brought into sharp focus the need for better vetting of services offered by third party contractors and remote update processes,” Menting said.
“The scale of the intrusion clearly illustrates how vulnerable systems can be when they have weak links, and how easily threat actors can infiltrate and escalate privileges once access has been gained.
“The implications for national security are significant, and critical infrastructure operators and governments worldwide are now re-evaluating and re-assessing the risks as they relate to remote management.”
The researchers also found that the majority of security spending will still focus on IT networks, systems, and data security from a defensive perspective.
“This is where the primary threats are focused, and operators are keenly aware of the potential ramifications of a breach there,” Menting said.
“However, increasing efforts are being placed on offensive security investments to better prepare response mechanisms, as well as securing operational technologies as operators in many sectors go through digital transformation and start evolving toward smart and connected IoT infrastructures.”
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