Quick Overview

  • According to a report released Tuesday by cybersecurity research firm IANS Research and executive search firm Artico Search, cybersecurity budgets are expected to grow by an average of 4% in 2025, down from 8% in 2024, a change that may stem from economic uncertainty.
  • The research shows that cybersecurity spending as a share of overall IT budgets fell from 11.9% to 10.9%, breaking a five-year upward trend.
  • "We are again finding that security budgets are not immune to the macro environment," said Steve Martano, partner in Artico's cybersecurity practice, in a press release. "Although most companies rank cyber risk among their top five business risks, most CISOs are not receiving budget increases that match the expanding scope of their security programs."

Deep Insights

According to a Deloitte report released in July, CFO confidence declined sharply in the second quarter amid economic headwinds and geopolitical concerns. Economic issues became the top external risk cited by CFOs, mentioned by 53% of respondents, followed by cybersecurity (51%) and interest rates (43%).

The IANS and Artico research notes that global market volatility driven by geopolitical tensions, uncertainty over tariff policies, and fluctuations in inflation and interest rates is affecting cybersecurity spending, leading to stagnant or reduced budgets.

"Staffing constraints have been particularly notable this year," Martano said. "Security leaders and teams alike report that they are stretched thin due to hiring freezes or limited hiring budgets."

Gartner predicted last month that global end-user spending on information security is expected to reach $213 billion in 2025, up from $193 billion in 2024.

"Existing security spending will proceed as usual, but some organizations are being more cautious about new security expenditures in this highly uncertain and challenging environment," said Ruggero Contu, Senior Director Analyst at Gartner, in a press release accompanying the research. "However, higher defense budgets, rising threats, increasing regulatory pressure, and growing cybersecurity awareness—especially among small and medium-sized enterprises—will keep cybersecurity spending strong in the medium to long term."