Critical Infrastructure Protection Market Overview, 2024-29

In a world, where stakes ride up the curve like an exponential one, the critical infrastructure protection market turns into the silent guardian that shields from risks unseen modern civilization's lifelines. Critical infrastructures, or CI, come with services that are basal to society and can be referred to as the backbone of the economy, health, and security of any nation.

Examples of CI are power utilized in homes and industries, transport, and communication systems. The rapid urbanization in all major parts of the world has been putting immense pressure on city infrastructure, due to which governments around the world are focusing on building better infrastructure, whether transport, energy, and water, so as to provide better livability.

Even the information and telecommunications sector are important within the market. Other critical infrastructures and operational technologies that support the defense bases and facilities at nearly every level include power generation and utilities, building automation, and security systems. The destruction of such bases can bring down the national economic security of the country like loss in power, disclosure of proprietary information, operational upset, etc. relate to Critical infrastructures with respect to the power grid include devices with industrial control systems. Various ICS devices have been detected as accessible over the Internet and so potentially insecure during the past years.

The nature of this new domain of their interactions in cyberspace seems to be rather unknown. Lack of standard-based technical security testing exposes the Industrial Control Environments and the Critical National Infrastructure to cyber threats. Unlike IT networks, the life cycles of Operational Technology components are in the time scale of 15 to 25 years, and with it, such systems become an easy target for cyber threats because of the vulnerabilities and holes in such outdated software and hardware.

According to the research report, “Global Critical Infrastructure Protection Market Overview, 2029” the market is anticipated to cross USD 178 Billion by 2029, increasing from USD 140 Billion in 2023. The market is expected to grow with a 4% CAGR from 2024 to 2029. The increasing sophistication of cyber threats is one of the major driving factors in the growth of the global CIP market. Cyberattacks against such critical infrastructures as power grids and financial institutions bring about large-scale disruption. The 2015 cyberattack on Ukraine's power grid, which left some 230,000 people in the dark, underlined the vulnerability of critical infrastructure to digital threats.

This attack indeed accelerated the global market demand for more sophisticated cybersecurity solutions, which include intrusion detection systems, firewalls, and encryption technologies, to mention a few, to safeguard significant assets from cyber threats. There are stringent cybersecurity regulations that were enforced in the European Union, like the requirements indicated by the Network and Information Systems (NIS) Directive in 2016 for operators of essential services, and, in fact, as mentioned, the U.S. has corresponding regulations established, and that is the CIP or Critical Infrastructure Protection Standards, which are developed and implemented by NERC, North American Electric Reliability Corporation.

For example, the European Union has its strict cybersecurity measures under the NIS Directive for operators of essential services, and the U.S. has its under the Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Standards set by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC). In fact, there is a huge deal of cross-border collaboration because threats to critical infrastructure are now global in nature. The relevant bodies of international organizations, such as the United Nations and the World Economic Forum, have paid great attention to the issue and put forward global forums and platforms for joint work on the objective.

For instance, the Global Forum on Cyber Expertise pulls countries, private sector companies, and international organizations together to share knowledge and best practices in cybersecurity, especially in the protection of critical infrastructure. According to the Chronicle, with additional people working off-premise post-COVID, phishing attacks and ransomware grew. Critical infrastructure operators had been thrown at a bigger risk of cyber attack since they had adjusted to working conditions that could not be as secure as traditional setups. The aftereffects of this have been that major growth has been seen in the market post-pandemic.

Market Drivers

• Integration of Blockchain Technology: The global CIP market is increasingly incorporating blockchain technology to enhance security and transparency. Blockchain's immutable ledger capabilities are being utilized to secure critical infrastructure systems against tampering and fraud. This technology provides a decentralized and verifiable method for tracking and securing data transactions, which is particularly useful for protecting supply chains and financial systems.
• Emergence of Quantum Computing: The advent of quantum computing is driving the global CIP market by creating both opportunities and challenges. While quantum computing promises significant advancements in data processing and encryption, it poses potential risks to existing cryptographic standards. This dual impact prompts investments in quantum-resistant encryption technologies and cybersecurity measures to prepare for future advancements in quantum computing.

Market Challenges

• Legacy Infrastructure Vulnerabilities: A global challenge in critical infrastructure protection is the prevalence of legacy systems that are vulnerable to modern cyber threats. Many critical infrastructure components worldwide are built on outdated technology that cannot effectively integrate with current security solutions. The difficulty in upgrading or replacing these legacy systems creates significant security gaps and complicates protection efforts.
• Disparity in Cybersecurity Maturity: There is a significant disparity in cybersecurity maturity across different regions and sectors globally. While some areas have advanced cybersecurity measures in place, others are still developing basic security protocols. This uneven maturity creates challenges in implementing global CIP standards and ensuring that all critical infrastructures are adequately protected against emerging threats.

Market Trends

• Growth of Cyber-Physical Security Convergence: There is a notable trend towards the convergence of cyber and physical security measures in the global CIP market. Organizations are increasingly recognizing the need to integrate cybersecurity with physical security systems to address the interconnected nature of modern infrastructure. This convergence helps in creating more comprehensive security strategies that protect against both cyber and physical threats.
• Advancement in Predictive Analytics for Threat Management: The use of predictive analytics is becoming more prevalent in the global CIP market. Organizations are leveraging advanced analytics to anticipate and mitigate potential threats before they materialize. By analyzing historical data, patterns, and trends, predictive analytics enables proactive threat management and enhances the ability to prevent security incidents before they occur.

The worldwide growth in protection of the critical infrastructures through cybersecurity results from the fact that the increased interconnectedness and digitization of critical infrastructures expand the attack surface, increasing the risks associated with cyber threats.

Critical infrastructure sectors such as energy, water, transportation, and healthcare are becoming more dependent on digital technologies and interconnected systems; hence, they are more vulnerable to cyber attacks. The fact that the two formerly separate worlds of information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) have gradually started converging offers new avenues that cyber threats can exploit, potentially disrupting essential services, causing physical damage, and even loss of life.

High-profile incidents, such as the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack and the Stuxnet worm, have brought into sharp relief the very real impact that cyber threats can have on critical infrastructure, pointing to the immediate need for heavy-duty cybersecurity measures. Accordingly, all governments and industries are now turning to cyber security, investing in it to be in a position to protect all critical infrastructures and ensure continuity of essential services. This will include state-of-the-art cyber security solution implementations like intrusion detection systems, secure network architectures with encryption, and AI-based threat intelligence.

The establishment of legal frameworks and sector-specific standards underpinned adoption of cyber security best practice across the critical infrastructure sectors. International collaborations and information-sharing initiatives have cropped up to deal with the global nature of the cyber threat and improve collective defense. Greater awareness of the requirement to fuse cyber-physical security thus propels a holistic approach toward the protection of critical infrastructure, further driving growth in the cybersecurity market.

The BFSI sector leads in the global critical infrastructure protection market is due to the increase in digitization of financial services and the need to protect sensitive data and infrastructure from cyber threats.

In this era of rapid digital technology adoption for deploying online banking, mobile payments, and cloud computing, the BFSI sector is undergoing radical reform to be more efficient and convenient for customers. It is an opportunity for the sector to get exposed to a vast array of cyber threats up against data breaches, ransomware, and DDoS. The financial implications can be dire because the average cost of a data breach in the BFSI sector was $5.72 million in 2021. This has left financial institutions with no option but to seek investment, mainly in solutions for the protection of critical infrastructure.

The BFSI sector has to comply with stringent regulatory requirements: the General Data Protection Regulation in Europe and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in the United States, requiring the need to ramp up security measures in order to protect customers' data. And undoubtedly, noncompliance with these demands for the maintenance of information security can result in dire financial fines and reputational losses, thus pushing the BFSI sector toward the adoption of critical infrastructure protection solutions.

Financial institutions have already begun seeking advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence or machine learning, to enhance security. Machine learning and AI-based technologies assist financial institutions in detecting threats, automating responses, and simultaneously building predictive analytics to stay on top of the evolving cyber threat. Such integrations are believed to not only add to the market growth in the BFSI segment but across all.

The growth of services in the global CIP market are increasing sophistication and frequency of cyber-attacks, which will require end-to-end and specialized security solutions.

With organizations around the world experiencing a rise in advanced attacks on their critical infrastructure, the demand for specialized services designed to guard these critical assets has equally increased. Very significantly, cyber threats have been nothing short of sophisticated; modern attackers resort to highly sophisticated techniques to exploit the vulnerabilities of physical as well as digital systems. Coming in the wake of high-profile incidents, such as the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack in the U.S. and the SolarWinds breach, vulnerabilities in the critical infrastructure sectors have been brought to the front line; these include energy, transportation, and healthcare.

These incidents have resulted in the prioritization of protection by governments and organizations on their critical assets; as a result, there has been a resulting rapid investment surge in CIP services. Facing such rising threats, organizations are reaching out more and more for services that include risk assessment, threat intelligence, incident response, and compliance management, among other dimensions of security. Because of the requirement to be continually monitored for active threats, managed security services have come about, where third-party providers offer up skills and resources to help organizations protect their critical infrastructure.

The need for organizations to maintain compliance with government regulations and industry standards, as they become more stringent, is driving spending on comprehensive CIP services to avoid the related penalties in case of non-compliance. To add to this, some regulatory frameworks, like the NERC CIP standards in North America and the General Data Protection Regulation in the European Union, are compelling organizations to embrace security measures effectively.

In the global critical infrastructure protection market, APAC is growing because of rapid urbanization and industrialization, thereby rocketing the demand for critical infrastructures in power plants, transportation systems, and telecommunication networks.

The APAC region is characterized by rapid urbanization and industrialization, thereby fueling interest in critical infrastructure are power plants, transport systems, and telecommunications networks. Critical infrastructure protection is presently a hotbed of activity in the region, with heavy investment by countries like China, Japan, India, and South Korea in protecting their critical infrastructure from all types of threats, from cyber-attacks and physical attacks to natural disasters. Fast urbanization in this region has led to growing demand for energy, water, and transportation infrastructure that is critical in nature, in order to support the development of cities and the growth of industries.

The Belt and Road Initiative, for instance a mega infrastructure development project by China has increased the demand for critical infrastructure protection solutions. Similarly, the Smart Cities Mission of the government of India to develop 100 smart cities has been driving the demand for advanced critical infrastructure protection technologies. The APAC region includes some of the world's most densely inhabited countries. This has led to a rise in demand for important infrastructures like healthcare facilities, educational institutions, and government buildings.

The governments of this region have realized the need to protect such infrastructures from several threats, which has provided impetus to the demand for critical infrastructure protection solutions. The APAC region is one of the hotspots of world trade and commerce because most countries within the region are crucial points in the global supply chain. Therefore, there is the likelihood of total disruption in critical infrastructure of this region, which result in very critical impacts on the economy and the society at large.

• In October 2023, Google Cloud joined the E-ISAC Vendor Affiliate Program to contribute to the electricity industry's collective defense by providing subject matter expertise on critical vulnerabilities and security solutions. As a Vendor Affiliate Program partner, Google Cloud will devote experts to working alongside industry leaders to transform and secure the electricity sector. The company will bring the Google Cybersecurity Action Team to protect the electricity industry against cyberattacks. Google has committed to investing at least USD 10 billion over five years to advance cybersecurity.
• In September 2023, Ericsson further expands its already long-term and successful relationship with Google Cloud to develop an Ericsson Cloud RAN solution on Google Distributed Cloud for an integrated automation and orchestration, AI/ML for further benefits to a CSP. GDC is a managed hardware and software portfolio, which brings infrastructure and services by Google Cloud to the edge and to data centers. The use of Ericsson Cloud RAN in GDC Edge will provide full automation and a very large-scale, distributed cloud, making the software-centric radio access network infrastructure efficient, reliable, highly performant, and secured.
• In June 2023, McAfee Corp., a global online protection player, has collaborated with Dell Technologies in launching the new comprehensive security solution for small business owners: McAfee Business Protection. McAfee Business Protection will avoid cyber threats and vulnerabilities by delivering award-winning security, identity and dark web data monitoring, VPN, web protection for safe browsing, more.
• In March 2023, ProteanTecs and BAE Systems worked together to create a zero-trust supply chain for defence and vital infrastructure. As a way to fight off the increasing danger brought about by fake semiconductor gadgets and make certain whether electronic systems are dependable or they are safe but used in different application areas, this partnership marries strong verification rules with profound analytics.

Considered in this report

• Historic year: 2018
• Base year: 2023
• Estimated year: 2024
• Forecast year: 2029

Aspects covered in this report

• Critical Infrastructure Protection market Outlook with its value and forecast along with its segments
• Various drivers and challenges
• On-going trends and developments
• Top profiled companies
• Strategic recommendation

By Security Type

• Physical Security & Safety
• Cybersecurity

By Vertical

• Energy & Power
• BFSI
• IT & Telecommunications
• Government & Defence
• Transport & Logistics
• Oil & Gas
• Other Verticals

By Offering

• Solutions
• Service

The approach of the report:

This report consists of a combined approach of primary and secondary research. Initially, secondary research was used to get an understanding of the market and list the companies that are present in it. The secondary research consists of third-party sources such as press releases, annual reports of companies, and government-generated reports and databases.

After gathering the data from secondary sources, primary research was conducted by conducting telephone interviews with the leading players about how the market is functioning and then conducting trade calls with dealers and distributors of the market. Post this; we have started making primary calls to consumers by equally segmenting them in regional aspects, tier aspects, age group, and gender. Once we have primary data with us, we can start verifying the details obtained from secondary sources.

Intended audience

This report can be useful to industry consultants, manufacturers, suppliers, associations, and organizations related to the Critical Infrastructure Protection industry, government bodies, and other stakeholders to align their market-centric strategies. In addition to marketing and presentations, it will also increase competitive knowledge about the industry.


This product will be delivered within 2 business days.