Global Military Transformation Includes $16 Bn In Cyber Security By 2023

Global defense industries are transforming their operations and capabilities through significant investments in disruptive technologies and platforms that are driving changes in military cyber security requirements. Demand in public sector and military is being driven by the need to increase awareness of new vulnerabilities and complying with national standards for critical infrastructure protection.

Research from industry analyst firm Frost & Sullivan estimates that government and military spending in 2018 was $13.44 bn and will reach $13.84 bn in 2019. The longer term outlook from the analyst firm anticipates global military cyber security to grow to $16.01 bn by 2023. The market will experience slight growth acceleration at the beginning of the 2020s (concretely 2021-2022) mainly due to continuous increase in military budgets and the sophistication of cyberattacks and vulnerabilities.

Market Drivers Offset By Insufficient Funding And Challenges Reducing Reliance On Foreign Suppliers

Governments have awakened to the realization that they cannot successfully implement a security program on their own. New threat vectors and a growth in attack sophistication necessitate looking to private sector for threat awareness and tools that anticipate future cyber security requirements. Two market drivers are observed in the near-term for military cyber security:

• Increasing Awareness of New Vulnerabilities: With the constant evolution and the widespread nature of cyberattacks, governments and militaries are highlighting the importance of audits, risk assessments, and penetration testing across critical assets.
• Enforcing of National Standards: Many Western military operations and critical assets rely on secure connectivity, while countries such as China, Australia, and Germany are adopting legislation regarding public entity and critical national infrastructure (CNI) operator adoption of cyber security practices, including incident detection, mandatory incident reporting, and safety audits.

“Despite promising growth drivers, there are currently several substantial drawbacks that don't allow double-digit market advancement,” said Ryan Pinto, Research Analyst, Frost & Sullivan. “The main factors restraining market advancement include insufficient funding, compatibility issues, and protectionism of nations trying to develop domestic industrial capabilities on the one hand and, on the other, trying to minimize the reliance of their military on foreign entities with high-level access.”

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Governments Embracing Emerging Technology To Scale Cyber Efforts

The development of the new enabling technologies for cyber security such as AI, cloud computing, quantum computing and blockchain are being budgeted and pursued by militaries all across the globe. Future startups with highly technological innovative ideas seeking quick growth should consider participation in collaborative partnerships, such as the DIUx program in the U.S., that create substantial opportunities to cooperate with militaries on research programs.

Militaries are also expressing significant demand for trained cyber security personnel. Growing demand for military cyber security training programs allows commercial companies with training services to approach military training contracts and gain a foothold in the defense market.

See Related: Military Vets Could Help Build Cyber Security Workforce

“Militaries across the globe are budgeting for and pursuing the development of new enabling, next-generation technologies for cybersecurity,” said Frost & Sullivan’s Pinto. “These technologies will open up significant growth opportunities by improving the speed and accuracy of logistics battlefield planning, increasing autonomous functionality of systems, aiding decision-making, lowering overhead costs, and enabling less soldier risk.”

New technologies do not align with legacy processes and mission planning, which suggests an opportunity for training-as-a-service in addition to traditional solutions portfolios and integration consulting. The desired outcome is to understand how best to utilize the new technology without trying to force-fit it into existing behaviors.

See Related: Growth Of Women Leaders In Cyber Provides Promising Trajectory For Industry Diversity