Australian cybersecurity market worth $5.6bn in 2020

Australian spending on cybersecurity is on track to grow from $5.6 billion this year to $7.6 billion by 2024, according to AustCyber’s 2020 Cyber Security Sector Competitiveness Plan.

The 2020 update to the plan found that the cybersecurity sector in Australia now employs 26,500 workers in full-time roles. The Australian sector has around 350 sovereign providers, with 88% of these being SMEs with fewer than 100 employees.

Around 43% of these businesses are exporting their products globally. Collectively, Australian cybersecurity providers generated $3.6 billion in revenue in 2020 — $3 billion from the domestic market and $600 million from international markets.

This also means that more than half of total Australian cybersecurity spending is going to Australian companies.

Meanwhile the report found that more than half of providers are having to change how they operate as a result of COVID-19, and that between 33 and 44% of cybersecurity start-ups partner on product and service delivery solutions.

AustCyber CEO Michele Price said the update is aimed at providing evidence for the size and growth prospects of the Australian cybersecurity industry.

“A clear view of the maturity and size of Australia’s cybersecurity sector is essential for strategic growth. Good policy and future investments are contingent upon policymakers, entrepreneurs and investors having a strong picture of the sector on which to make informed decisions,” she said.

“The measurement of fundamental economic metrics such as the size of the sector and its value added to the economy can serve as a foundation to more sophisticated analysis, such as the broader impacts of cyber innovation across the economy, including its role as an enabler of growth and its contribution to overall prosperity.”

Accordingly, the report for the first time estimates the gross value added (GVA) of the security sector, calculating it at $2.3 billion — comparable to other digital sectors such as computer software ($4.2 billion) and retail e-commerce ($3.2 billion).

Price said even this figure does not represent the true economic contribution of the sector. “While GVA estimates the direct contribution of cybersecurity to the economy, it does not account for its role in enabling economic activity in other sectors, of which it plays a critical role,” she said.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Hernan Schmidt