UK’s cyber security sector worth £8.3bn

The UK’s cyber security industry is now worth an estimated £8.3 billion, with total revenues in the sector up 46 per cent from £5.7 billion in 2017.

The sector has seen significant growth in annual revenue and employment, as well as considerable investment in early-stage companies.

New report from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) reveals the number of active cyber security firms in the UK has increased 44% from 2017.  The findings also show that the number of active cyber security firms in the UK has increased 44% – up from 846 in 2017 to over 1,200 at year-end 2019. This growth is the equivalent to a new cyber security business being set up in the UK every week

There are now approximately 43,000 full time employees working in the cyber security sector, up 37% from 2017. 2019 was a record year for the sector with more than £348 million of investment and over the last four years (2016-19), total investment identified within the cyber security sector has exceeded £1.1 billion, demonstrating how confidence has grown in the industry.

The UK Cyber Security Sectoral Analysis 2020 named Darktrace as one of the most successful UK cyber security companies, which is one of the country’s 77 tech ‘unicorns’ – a company valued at over $1 billion.

Digital Minister Matt Warman said: “It’s great to see our cyber security sector going from strength to strength. It plays a vital role in protecting the country’s thriving digital economy and keeping people safe online.

“We are committed to seeing it grow and are investing £1.9bn over five years through our National Cyber Security Strategy to make sure we lead the way in cyber innovation, develop and attract the best talent.”

The report also highlights the growing diversification of the UK cyber sector with the growth of emerging security sub-sectors focusing on areas such as the Internet of Things, centralised systems that control and monitor infrastructure or facility-based processes, and post-quantum cryptography.

Tech Nation Entrepreneur Success Director Mike Jackson said: “These latest figures released by DCMS highlight the growing strength of Cyber Security to the UK tech sector. It’s promising to see the number of cyber security firms increasing by 44% and the positive contribution this makes to the UK economy.”

Darktrace CEO Poppy Gustafsson added: “The immense growth of the cyber security industry in recent years reflects the magnitude of the cyber challenge confronting organisations of every kind in modern society. Organisations have had no choice but to lean on AI that fights back on their behalf in the face of fast and sophisticated threats, and it is this appetite for what we call ‘autonomous response’ technology that has driven Darktrace’s exponential growth.”