The cybersecurity market - Italy

1.1 Definition and scope of the study

Information security, or cybersecurity, refers to the processes and practices that are designed and undertaken in order to protect networks, programs, data and devices from unauthorized attacks or access.

Despite being a relatively new field, and still not fully regulated (laws and decrees: 1996, 1992, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2018, 2019), the Italian cybersecurity market is booming, registering double-digit growth figures in the years 2018-20. This market can be divided into five main segments:

• Cybersecurity consulting
• Hardware
• Software
• Managed security and cloud services
• Other (systems integration, training, etc.)

Large companies are the main investors in cybersecurity, with IT managers/CTOs increasingly aware of the risks on their information systems and the growing pressures on user data privacy. The banking/financial sector leads Italy in terms of cybersecurity spending, followed by government (particularly defense, foreign and local/regional governments), transportation, telecommunications and manufacturing round out the top 5. More than half of SMEs in Italy do not currently spend on cybersecurity.

The cybersecurity market in Italy is divided between large multinational companies such as Kasperky, McAfee, Cisco, and Broadcom and smaller, more specialized companies that provide tailored solutions (ELTA, BooleBox, and BlackSwan).

Despite lagging behind its European neighbors in this area, with the greater digitization of society, and the greater volume and danger of cyber attacks (1,557 serious attacks in 2018 +38% over 2017), spending on cybersecurity is expected to continue to grow in Italy.