Spain: Land of Cybersecurity

INCIBE

By Victoria Valbuena, Head of Internationalization

Did you know that Spain is the third most cyberattacked country in the world? According to the report published by ESET, Spain ranks first in Europe and third in the world (behind only the United States and Japan) as the country most targeted by cybercriminals.

With this in mind, it is no surprise that Spain is the country with the highest number of CSIRTs in the European Union, according to ENISA data. Or that we rank fourth in the ITU's Global Cybersecurity Index.

This has a direct impact on the strength of our national cybersecurity industry. Spain has around 1,800 companies offering cybersecurity services and solutions to the market, approximately 600 of them pure cyber players. These companies have to meet an estimated market demand in Spain of just over USD 2.5 billion by 2023, according to Statista estimates. But the outlook is even better over the medium term, with double-digit market growth rates expected in the coming years.

This environment and the strength of our national cybersecurity industry is further enhanced by the public support that Spanish institutions are giving to cybersecurity. All these activities and programmes are part of the Digital Strategy 2026 promoted by the Spanish Government.

In the part that directly impacts the cybersecurity industry, INCIBE, Spainish National Cybersecurity Institute, is leading activities and programmes to support the national industry. For those who do not know INCIBE, we are a public entity under the auspices of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, through the State Secretariat for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence, which works to strengthen digital trust, increase cybersecurity and resilience and contribute to the digital market fostering the safe use of cyberspace in Spain.

To achieve this objective, INCIBE's activity is based on three pillars:

• Strengthening the cybersecurity capabilities of citizens and professionals.
• Support the national cyber security industry.
• Make Spain an international cybersecurity hub.

While all pillars are important, for the purposes of this article we will focus on the second: INCIBE's support for the national cybersecurity industry. Here at INCIBE our goal is for the national cybersecurity industry to grow and offer cutting-edge technology solutions to the market. We have therefore launched a series of projects aimed at achieving this goal:

1. Fostering collaboration with universities and the development of R&D programmes in cybersecurity.
2. Supporting cybersecurity entrepreneurs and start-ups to ensure that more companies offer cybersecurity solutions to the market in the coming years.
3. Facilitating the international expansion of our companies, so that they can grow in size and in terms of global competitiveness in new markets.

If you would like to know more about the opportunities that Spain offers in terms of cybersecurity, as well as the support programmes that INCIBE offers, don't miss the opportunity to visit our booth at Black Hat Europe 2023.