Cyber Security of Critical Infrastructure is Now the Most Pressing Security Issue for Major Economies

Wednesday 8 October 2014, Amsterdam

With the proliferation of advanced computer viruses and the ready availability of other hacking software from the internet, many nations are scrambling to establish digital safeguards for their critical systems and wider public networks. Despite popular belief however, this is no easy task. For with the consistent progression of technology into all aspects of modern daily life, today’s societies are becoming increasingly connected, to such an extent that everything from vehicles through to nuclear industrial control systems can be accessed through an application on an iPhone. This convergence towards a smart-grid is one that computer-savvy criminals and state-sponsored operators have not been slow to take advantage of, and in many cases defences continue to remain behind attack-capabilities.

The next ten years will see nation states and companies attempting to address this balance of power, with a vast amount of expenditure being directed towards getting systems up-to-date, equipped with advanced monitoring and detection capacity, and backed-up in preparation for any significant security breach. This will involve software installations and consultancy work, but also an increasing amount of security built into hardware itself. Of course as time goes on the threats arranged against critical national infrastructure will only become more sophisticated, but unlike in the past, this is something that many are aware of and more than motivated to deal with. The new report expects global spending on critical infrastructure protection to reach $49.5bn in 2014.

A detailed analysis of the latest political, economic and technological trends lies at the heart of the reports unparalleled quantitative and qualitative analysis of the critical infrastructure protection market. This 539 page report provides a thorough quantitative and qualitative analysis of the global utilities infrastructure security market, with 5 regions, 18 national markets, and 5 submarkets evaluated in depth. 25 leading companies are also profiled in this report, with 373 tables, charts and graphs and over 1000 other companies and organisations mentioned, in addition to 226 contracts detailing major ongoing programmes.

The report also includes a detailed qualitative strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis of the critical infrastructure security market underpinning the forecasts for the period 2014-2024. Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Market Forecast 2014-2024: Cybersecurity, Perimeter Security, Surveillance, Access Control & Personnel therefore provides an unrivalled level of detail in its analysis of market trends and commercial prospects.

The report's findings are reinforced by exclusive expert interviews with Raj Samani of McAfee, and Johan Slotte from Teleste Corporation, representing both the digital and physical sides of the market.


Callum Jennings, the analyst responsible for the Critical Infrastructure Protection Report, summarised its findings:

“The safety and security of national critical infrastructure is currently of paramount concern for many nation states, as operators and organisations scramble to both secure their existing assets from a new range of threats, whilst at the same time invest in new developments which can boost economic growth. Cybersecurity issues in particular have emerged as the dominant factor in many Western nations’ homeland security posturing in recent years, dominating much of the new response planning and impacting on how private operators fit into overall defensive frameworks. Certainly, whereas in the past the greatest perceived threat to critical national infrastructure emanated from extremist groups with violent physical capabilities, in the modern day companies and governments alike have to invest in digital barriers and solutions as much as physical ones. Although still a non-issue for some, this trend is set to drive the critical infrastructure protection market throughout the forecast period, and lead to an interesting realignment of defensive priorities even in countries with little history of multifaceted security agendas”

Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Market Forecast 2014-2024: Cybersecurity, Perimeter Security, Surveillance, Access Control & Personnel is an invaluable reference offering extensive market analysis and evaluation of future commercial prospects.