Cyber Security Market Report

Cyber Security Market Report 2026

A sourced view of the current cyber security market: spending growth, breach trends, ransomware pressure, business impact, and the operating signals leadership teams should be watching right now.

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Security spend is still rising

Gartner projects information security spending to rise from $193.4B in 2024 to $239.8B in 2026. Software and services both continue to climb, with cloud-driven software growth standing out.

Attack pressure is shifting toward access and execution speed

Official reporting from Verizon, CrowdStrike, and IBM points to higher vulnerability exploitation, more ransomware presence, faster breakout times, and a heavier reliance on stolen credentials and malware-free intrusion paths.

Business impact remains materially high

IBM reports a 2025 global average breach cost of $4.4M, while the FBI says reported internet crime losses exceeded $16B in 2024. Cybersecurity is not a theoretical budget category; it is a loss-prevention function.

Market growth

Information Security Spending Keeps Rising

Gartner projects global information security spending to grow from $193.4B in 2024 to $239.8B in 2026, with software and services both expanding.

Breach pressure

Exploit and Ransomware Signals Remain Severe

Verizon and CrowdStrike data show strong pressure around exploitability, ransomware prevalence, SMB exposure, and adversary acceleration.

Operating signals

How Modern Intrusions Are Showing Up

Recent official intelligence summaries point to more credential abuse, more malware-free access, and a continued need to harden internet-facing systems and cloud identities.

Incidents using malware-free access

79%

Cloud incidents using valid accounts

35%

Disclosed vulns exploitable without auth

56%

Ransomware group activity increase

49%

Financial impact

The Cost Case for Cyber Security Investment

Global avg breach cost

$4.4M

USD millions

AI-enabled security savings

$1.9M

USD millions

U.S. internet crime losses

$16.0B

USD billions

Executive interpretation

The market data does not support a wait-and-see posture. Spend is rising because threat pressure, regulatory scrutiny, and the cost of failure are all staying materially elevated.

Executive takeaways

What businesses should do with this report

Harden external entry points

Patch exposed systems faster, validate VPN and perimeter security, and reduce exploitable internet-facing attack surface.

Treat identity as a primary control plane

Modern attacks increasingly rely on credential abuse and valid account access. Strong identity controls now sit at the center of practical defense.

Connect assessment to remediation

Reports without follow-through do not materially lower risk. Organizations need prioritized remediation, retesting, and clear ownership after findings are documented.

Sources

Primary source citations

Gartner · July 29, 2025

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