In 2017, the MSS market in the ANZ region recorded a growth of 13.5%. Australian companies are increasingly witnessing cybercrimes, making the region one of the most targeted the Asia-Pacific region. Ransomware and phishing attacks are the most frequent, and governments are now looking at the growing number of cyber incidents as a major area of concern.

The governments are continuing to work on their budget of $230 million announced as part of their Cybersecurity Strategy in 2016. They are focusing on education and training programs to build the cybersecurity skills and to improve the cybersecurity posture of their firms. In Australia, the government is encouraging the private sector to step in and secure the country’s cyberspace, as the private sector holds and maintains a large volume of digital infrastructure. The government is focusing on increasing cybersecurity awareness and bridging the skills gap by partnering with educational institutions.

The MSS landscape has expanded over the years, and the participants have developed capabilities to mitigate advanced threats. The governments in the region continue to focus on its cybersecurity strategy and are focusing on higher, quicker adoption of digital technologies. With the growing number of cyber incidents, enterprises in the region now have to comply with increasingly stringent cybersecurity regulations.
The ANZ region is witnessing a higher rate of adoption of cloud-based MSS from both local and global vendors in the market. Enterprises benefit from the features provided by the cloud, such as ease of deployment and convenience.

Large businesses that deploy MMS solutions mainly have their in-house capabilities and use the services of MSSPs to only supplement for better threat reporting, threat management, and for generating use cases. They also benefit from evolving technologies, an expanding threat landscape, and deal with the limited talent available in house.

The region will continue to comply with regulatory needs pertaining to cybersecurity measures. For instance, Australia is governed by the ‘Evaluated Products List’ from the Australian Signals Directorate.

In New Zealand, the government is promoting digital adoption and increased use of digital technology to achieve a better economic growth. With this, cybersecurity is gaining prominence, and the country has increased its investment in cybersecurity services. This trend is expected to continue over the next 4 to 5 years, with the country focusing on adopting stringent cybersecurity control.

In the 2018 budget, the New Zealand Government allocated $2.5 million of new operating funding to the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) to be utilized over the next 4 years. This is a part of the updated cybersecurity strategy adopted by the government.

Author: Divya Prasad