Amazon and Apple have made headlines in recent weeks as both companies have attempted to alleviate concerns regarding their mobile cyber security practices. While the technology titans have been the biggest brands to publicly undergo such analysis, it appears many other companies are following suit, according to multiple recently released reports.
The global anti-malware industry is projected to reach 5.7 billion by 2020, with smartphone attacks being the leading cause for increased market share, according to Research and Markets. Mobile malware is increasingly becoming a problem as more and more users become increasingly comfortable with downloading mobile apps and doing personal business online. Research and Markets projects that the anti-malware industry will grow even more quickly if Apple is forced to create a backdoor to their iPhone, a request that Apple has fiercely fought and that is currently a making its way through the legal system.
Were Apple to lose the court case, the research firm believes that not only would the anti-malware market expand, but so too would the global machine-to-machine network security market, as well as the cyber security market as a whole. Current projections estimate that the global machine-to-machine network security market will have average annual growth of 24.5 percent through 2019, while the cyber security market at large is projected at 170.21 billion by 2020, with an average annual growth of 12.13 percent during that time.
While a final decision in the Apple case will not be known for a while, companies are already adjusting to increased malware risks by reviewing their cyber security capabilities and practices. Amazon recently restored their encryption services to Fire devices after the company received criticism from users and experts alike. It appears many other companies are following their lead as the global hardware encryption market forecasts growth amounting to more than 50 percent annually for the next three years. Similarly, mobile user authentication services – the “key” to encryption’s “lock,” if you will – is also expected to grow during the same period, although at the slightly less robust rate of 24.9 percent annually.
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