COVID-19 has incited the companies and individuals to adopt new practices such as social distancing, remote working and virtual learning.
However, the world is grappling with the economic and health crisis inflicted by COVID-19, the cybercriminals around the world are undeniably exploiting the crisis.
Rise in COVID-19 Related Cyberthreats
With almost all employees working from home and students attending virtual classes, the cybercriminals are using COVID-19 as bait to mislead employees and customers.
The cyber attackers disguised as legitimate agencies are tricking companies and customers into downloading malware or ransomware via fake COVID-19 links, applications, emails, or documents.
Kaspersky has identified around 260 COVID-19 related malware in Asia Region:
- 93 in Bangladesh
- 53 in the Philippines
- 40 in China
- 23 in Vietnam
- 22 in India
- 20 in Malaysia
According to RiskIQ, over 300,000 suspicious COVID-19 websites have been created between March 9 – 23, 2020.
Thus, cybersecurity has emerged as a critical business imperative for companies of all sizes globally.
The organizations are increasing focus on cybersecurity-driven business continuity plans to secure customer data and operations.
As per the market estimates, the COVID-19 impact on the global cybersecurity market size is anticipated to propel from USD 183.2 billion in 2019 to USD 230.0 billion by 2021, at a CAGR of 12.0%.
The rise in cyber-attacks increased usage of PCs and phones for office works, and growing focus on securing remote infrastructure and internet protocols are fuelling the demand for cybersecurity during the forecast period 2019-21.
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Endpoint Security Segment Growing at Alluring Rate
Based on technology, the endpoint security segment is expected to propel at the highest growth rate during the forecast period.
Endpoint security solutions involve both Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) and Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions.
These solutions help organizations secure endpoints and remote devices by detecting and mitigating advanced threats and zero-day DoS/DDoS attacks in real-time.
The security solutions enhance threat detection, security assessment and incident response abilities for organizations across all verticals.
Healthcare Sector Providing Promising Prospects
Based on vertical, the healthcare segment is estimated to show the highest growth rate in the cybersecurity market, owing to the growing demand for remote and teleworking modes.
Prevention of intra-hospital transmission of COVID-19 has become a key priority for the healthcare industry as the contagion poses an occupational health risk to the healthcare workers as well.
This, in turn, incited the usage of personal devices and the home internet connections that do not have adequate security regulations. Thus, making remote users vulnerable to malicious cyberattacks.
North America Domineering the Global Cybersecurity Market
By region, North America is considered to hold a significant share of the global cybersecurity market. Whereas, Asia Pacific is estimated to prosper at the highest CAGR during the forecast period owing to the region’s high usage of connected devices and smartphones that are highly vulnerable to endpoint attacks.
The dominance of North America is due to the significant developments in the endpoint security segment, rising investment in real-time security solutions, and high adoption of automation and behavioral analysis for threat detection.
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Conclusion
COVID-19 has drastically changed our lives by inciting new working procedures, new cybersecurity concerns and new hygiene practices, among others. However, the fight against COVID-19 is not just for the government, organization or individual but a combined effort from everyone.
It’s imperative for the businesses to revise their cyber threat management measures, BCPs and remote working policies post COVID-19.
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