On Oct. 17, two Bloomberg Government analysts sat down with WashingtonExec’s Executive Council to discuss Bloomberg’s cybersecurity market outlook. Bloomberg Director of Government Contracts Research Kevin Brancato and federal market analyst Laura Cristie outlined where the market is going, how the money will be spent and where organizations can find opportunities.
Bloomberg’s analysis found cybersecurity spending remained roughly equal between defense and nondefense agencies since 2013. Additionally, the departments of Homeland Security and State provide the bulk of increased civilian cyber obligations from 2016 to 2017, according to the research.
Set asides are key to small businesses’ share of the cybersecurity market, making up over half of the work at Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs. This trend could continue as small businesses may be well positioned to win work that continues to shift cybersecurity services onto the cloud.
In looking ahead to 2018, Brancato and Cristie emphasized how protecting one’s own networks is critical for demonstrating cyber excellence. Additionally, the threat landscape will drive immediate needs for cyber work. Brancato and Cristie said nation-state threats, and Russia, China, Iran and North Korea will be a driving force behind this immediate need for cyber work.
“I attended the Bloomberg Government Federal Cybersecurity Market Outlook on Oct. 17 and I agree that the threat landscape is growing across the government and agencies need to consider the threat of nation states, the need to monitor more systems (SCADA systems, etc.) and look to small business to support security services in the cloud,” said Dan Wilbricht, senior director at LogRhythm. “We have a responsibility to protect our nation and continue to hunt, even though the new money is hard to find.”