February 3, 2020

A new report from the DCMS reveals that the number of active cyber security firms in the UK has increased 44% since 2017.

The UK’s cyber security industry is now worth an estimated £8.3 billion, and total revenues in the sector were up 46% from £5.7 billion in 2017.

The sector has seen significant growth in annual revenue and employment, as well as considerable investment in early-stage companies. The findings from the report show:

• the number of active cyber security firms in the UK has increased 44%, up from 846 in 2017 to over 1,200 at year-end 2019. This growth is the equivalent to a new cyber security business being set up in the UK every week;
• there are now approximately 43,000 full time employees working in the cyber security sector, up 37% from 2017;
• total revenues within the sector have increased by 46% to an estimated £8.3 billion. On average, revenue per employee reached £193,500, an increase of 7% since 2017;
• 2019 was a record year for the sector with more than £348 million of investment;
• over the last four years (2016-19), total investment identified within the cyber security sector has exceeded £1.1 billion, demonstrating how confidence has grown in the industry.

The report also highlights the growing diversification of the UK cyber sector with the growth of emerging security sub-sectors focusing on areas such as the Internet of Things, centralised systems that control and monitor infrastructure or facility-based processes, and post-quantum cryptography. To read the Government’s press release in full, click here.