Fed Infosec Spending Seen Rising By 9% a Year

Study: U.S. to Earmark $13.3 Billion for Cybersecurity Wares by 2015 Eric Chabrow (GovInfoSecurity) • December 1, 2010

The federal government will spend $13.3 billion on cybersecurity wares from vendors by 2015, an annual growth topping 9 percent over the next five years, nearly twice the rate of overall government spending, according to the government technology market research Input. In 2010, federal government IT security purchases will have totaled $8.6 billion, according to Input's just-issued Federal Information Security Market, 2010-2015 report.

What's behind the sharp rise in projected IT security spending? Increased reliance on the Internet, networked systems and connectivity creates opportunities for cyber attackers to disrupt government operations, as well as U.S. critical infrastructure, the report says.

"There is a general consensus that the government has a lot of work to do to address weaknesses in its cyber security," said John Slye, Input principal analyst, said in a statement accompanying the study's release. "Over the last year, federal agencies have seen a 78 percent growth in cyber incidents. This demand for increased information security is greater than any other current technology, leaving it more immune to the recent federal budget cuts."

The pacing of spending is increasing. A year ago, Input pegged annual IT security spending at 8 percent. Input says securing federal government and critical U.S. information systems and data against cyber attack is now more important than ever, driven by a 445 percent increase in cyber threats since 2006.