Islamabad: Amid the breakneck rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and an ever-transforming IT security landscape, companies worldwide, including those in Pakistan, plan to increase their IT security budgets by up to 9 per cent.
According to Kaspersky’s latest “IT Security Economics” report, the growing global investments in cybersecurity come as organisations face rising financial losses from cyber incidents. Profit Pakistan’s assessment of Kaspersky’s report suggests that large enterprises allocated a median of $5.7 million for IT security from a total IT budget of $41.8 million, while small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) spent $0.2 million on security out of an overall budget of $1.6 million.
The report stated that organisations in Pakistan witnessed an average of 11 incidents over the past year.
Methodology
This study was based on data gathered from 1985 interviews with decision-makers and IT security specialists working in organisations of various sizes, from SMBs with fewer than 500 employees, SMEs with between 500 and 5,000 employees and large enterprises with more than 5,000 employees.
The scope included a detailed analysis of IT security budgets, staffing, vulnerabilities, and industry-specific insights.
Shared understanding
“As digital infrastructures become more critical, this upward trend underscores a shared industry understanding that security is not a discretionary expense but a necessary safeguard to protect evolving IT environments,” the study suggests.
The survey, covering 27 countries, examined IT security spending, breaches, and challenges in regions such as the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Turkiye, Latin America, the Asia-Pacific, and North America.
Large enterprises experienced an average of 12 cyber incidents this year, spending $6.2 million on recovery—1.1 times their allocated IT security budgets.
