According to a report from IDC company Financial Insights, the growing threat of hacking and cyber attacks is causing banking and finance firms to find that their IT security is coming under pressure from both external hackers and ever-tightening corporate regulations. The study found that priorities for security technology areas remain mainly in the area of anti-virus software and firewall appliances, but there is also a strong desire for web filtering and intrusion detection solutions. A combination of hardware and software solutions is being deployed by such organisations to fight cyber attacks.
Financial Insights Europe predicts that IT spending for security within European financial institutions will grow faster than overall IT spending because of new regulations, the strong impact security has on brand and reputation issues, and the high impact security has on customers' perception.
In more detail, IT spending for security within the Western European banking sector is expected to grow at a 15.2 percent compound annual growth rate over the next five years and is therefore an attractive segment for IT vendors.