Brits lavished over £1bn on firewalls last year

IT security spending rose eight per cent in 2013 as end users moved to shore up their defences, report finds

UK end users spent over a £1bn on firewalls in 2013 as the IT security market enjoyed another strong year, according to new research by analyst Key Note.

According to Key Note's IT Security Market Report, UK expenditure on IT security swelled eight per cent last year to £6.5bn.

That's higher than the seven per cent growth recorded in 2012 but lower than the 10.5 per cent and 9.5 per cent growth logged in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

External expenditure accounted for the lion's share, at £4.64bn, with internal expenditure reaching £1.86bn.

"With the threat of cyber-attacks rising in recent years - particularly given the recurrence of high-profile online data-loss incidents among major companies - the IT security market remains one of the fastest-growing sectors within the IT and technology industries," Key Note said.

Spending on IT security products rose seven per cent last year to £2.84bn, the analyst estimated, with some 38.3 per cent - or £1.09bn - of that total lavished on firewalls.

Spending on identity management, including access control, hit £653m, with a further £369m and £327m spent on anti-virus and content security, respectively. Expenditure on IPS/IDS, vulnerability assessment and threat management equalled £236m last year while the amount lavished on PKI and encryption hit £99m and £68m, respectively.

Spending on IT security services is rising even more rapidly, Key Note found, with spending growing 9.2 per cent to £1.8bn in 2013. Consultancy services contributed £724m of that total, with integration (£439m), outsourcing (£367m), maintenance and support (£150m) and training (£121m) also chipping in.