Data breaches will affect 1/4 of the world’s population by 2020, IDC predicts

IDC predicts that by 2020, more than 1.5 billion people, or roughly 1/4 of the world’s population, will be affected by data breaches.

While we have already felt the effect of massive breaches that have exposed the credentials for hundreds of millions of people, the IT impact will be felt more keenly in the coming years, according to IDC analysts.

“Consumers are starting to pull away from brands that have been breached,” says Christian A. Christiansen, IDC Program Vice President, Security Products and Services. “And they’re becoming aware that there’s a thriving market in more durable identity credentials than just credit cards.” One example of this is healthcare information, which Christiansen says has a lifespan of months, years, or “even decades,” compared to credit card information, which has a lifespan of just 2 to 4 hours after it is first used in an unauthorized transaction.

In this free Web conference, Christiansen, along with Duncan Brown, IDC Research Director, European Security Practice, discuss this and other key imperatives that will impact investment decisions in the area of IT security products and services over the next 1 to 3 years.

IDC’s report also makes the following predictions:

• By 2019, 25% of security spend will be driven by EU data protection regulation and privacy concerns. Jurisdiction issues among trading regions will not be resolved, leading to a patchwork of compliance regimes.
• By 2019, geopolitical divisions and global economic instability will result in cyberattacks targeting suppliers, forcing businesses to increase spending by 25% or more to mitigate supply chain risks.
• By 2017, the security services market will increase at least 30% due to the scarcity and high price of available data scientists, leading sub Fortune 100 companies to seek alternatives.
• By 2020, a 1/4 of all worldwide electronic transactions will be authenticated biometrically, driven by the widespread adoption and use of biometric enabled mobile devices.
• By 2020, security moves to the cloud with over half of all enterprises adopting cloud-based Web security platforms.

“IT security investments must support a risk-based approach to making business decisions and enable organizations to identify and seize opportunities for growth,” says Christiansen. “This IDC FutureScape security predictions document supports the security planning process with practical guidance that can be pliable enough to adapt to significant changes.”

To access the webcast, fill out a short registration form, with no obligation or fee. Webcast viewers will also be able to download the associated PowerPoint slides.