Spending on cybersecurity rising sharply, expected to hit $240 billion next year

End users will fork over $213 billion on information security this year, an increase of 10.4% compared to the previous year, research and advisory firm Gartner estimates. The spending growth will accelerate even further next year.

Gartner forecasts an increase of 12.5% next year, with users set to spend a total of $240 billion on cybersecurity in 2026.

For comparison, in 2024, information security spending was $193 billion.

“Established security spending will continue as normal, but some organizations are being more cautious with any new security spending in this highly uncertain and challenging climate,” said Ruggero Contu, senior director analyst at Gartner.

“However, higher defense budgets, rising threats, increasing regulatory pressure and better cybersecurity awareness – especially among small and medium-sized businesses – will keep cybersecurity spending strong in the medium to long term.”

The fastest-growing segment is software security. It is expected to hit $121 billion next year, 14.4% more than this year. Cloud security tools and security brokers are the main drivers in this segment.

While the move from on-premises to cloud-based systems is driving software security growth, it also brings new security risks, Gartner warns.

“Rising threats and the expanding use of AI and generative AI – by both internal users of AI and attackers – will remain key growth drivers,” the firm said.