Spending on critical cyber security infrastructure is set to hit US$22 billion by 2020 in the Asia-Pacific region, according to market research firm, ABI Research. This volatile cyber context not only affects highly-engaged cyber states such as Japan, China and South Korea but also Southeast Asian nations as well including Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand.
ABI Research highlighted that some of these nations are working hard to organize and advance internal cybersecurity policies. However, emerging economies such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and India are lagging behind such organizational structures, despite fast-growing digital markets, and are becoming lucrative targets for cybercrime.
According to ABI Research, active campaigns in cyberespionage and cyberwarfare plague nation states and private sector organizations in the region. Digitally advanced industries and emerging knowledge economies are lucrative targets for hostile cyber threat actors, fueled by political ideals or financial gain. This volatile cyber context is driving increased efforts to protect national infrastructure, and elevate cybersecurity engagement in the country.
This increase in the cyberthreat activity and the disparate levels of cybersecurity preparedness among the various states offer a large opportunity for cybersecurity investment over the next 5 years, said ABI Research, with countries like Japan, China, and South Korea to witness spending on critical infrastructure security hitting the billion dollar mark nationally over the forecast period.
Steve Harrick, General Partner at Institutional Ventures Partners (IVP)
The market for cybersecurity services is highly varied. Domestic vendors will feature highly in Northeast Asian markets such as Japan, South Korea, and China. However, there is significant opportunity for foreign security vendors to penetrate in Southeast Asian markets, notably Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and India,” says Michela Menting, Practice Director for the Digital Security.
