Economic Brief – Saudi Cybersecurity Leadership – January 2020

Cybersecurity is a growing global industry at the intersection of every sector and its integration with the digital economy. Saudi Arabia’s cybersecurity market is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.59 percent between 2018 and 2023, representing the largest market in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia has undergone rapid ICT adoption in the past fifteen years and has been a growing target for cyber threats. These threats are expected to increase as the Kingdom undergoes a digital transformation and evolves towards a knowledge economy. Saudi Arabia has responded by modernizing its information security governance, growing cybersecurity spending, and providing support for private sector entry into the cybersecurity field. The Kingdom was recently ranked by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) as the top regional cybersecurity industry and the top reformer in capacity-building. The proliferation of network-connected devices, cloud storage, and new technologies present additional challenges and new business opportunities in the cybersecurity industry.