Cybersecurity Startups: Hacking into a Growing Market Opportunity
As the world grows increasingly digitized, from cryptocurrencies to the interconnectivity of social media platforms, it has never been more important to protect your data. In the wake of the catastrophic Equifax data breach, cybersecurity has become of the utmost concern for every day citizens. The cybersecurity market has grown to $120B, underpinned by an increase in the frequency and severity of cybercrime over recent years. As cyber threats have increased, though, legacy technology has become increasingly less effective at mitigating them. For a detailed analysis of the industry and the major players in this sector, please download the report here: EquityZen Cybersecurity Sector Report
A Shifting Landscape
Cybersecurity is poised to become a key challenge for the modern economy. A staggering 4B records were exposed to data breaches last year, including notable attacks on Yahoo (twice), Dyn and the Democratic National Committee. This number is expected to increase – Cybersecurity Ventures estimates cybercrime could cost the global economy $6T annually by 2021, up from $3T in 2015.
As the business world is coming to understand, the old security models are broken and new tools are needed. As cyber risks grow, legacy technologies have become increasingly less effective in mitigating them. Several key changes are driving this trend:
- The volume of data transmitted is growing rapidly, with global IP traffic projected to reach 3.3 zettabytes (ZB) by 2021 (vs. 1.2 ZB in 2016)
- Data is increasingly stored outside of data centers, which traditional security systems were designed to protect
- Hackers are becoming more sophisticated at undermining legacy security tools.
Venture Investment in the Cybersecurity Space
