Share this article on:
An 8 per cent spike in information security and risk management spending has been forecast for the 2021 calendar year.
According to new research from cyber security firm Gartner, Australian organisations are set to invest over $4.9 billion on enterprise information security and risk management products and services over the coming year.
This represents an 8 per cent increase from 2020.
The Gartner 2021 CIO Agenda Survey found that 67 per cent of Australia and New Zealand respondents have ramped up spending in information security, second only to investment in business intelligence and data analytics (73 per cent).
Consulting, hardware support implementation and outsourcing services were among the cyber security investment categories listed by respondents, with cloud security reported as the fastest growing area of investment — forecast to hit $20 million in 2021.
According to Richard Addiscott, senior research director at Gartner, high profile cyber attacks and the recent introduction of key legislative and regulatory obligations have heightened cyber awareness.
“Many of the conversations we’re having with government and private sector clients in Australia revolve around the Essential Eight, varying state government cyber security frameworks, and regulatory instruments such as APRA’s Prudential Standard CPS 234,” he said.
“Organisations are being directed to implement these strategies to mitigate cyber security incidents.”
However, Addiscott acknowledged the difficulties of full implementation, which he said should not be viewed as a cyber security “panacea”.
“Rather than adopting a compliance-centric posture, organisations need to adopt a risk-based approach to security, protecting the organisation from the most critical threats while focusing on business outcomes,” he said.