Module 5 / 7

Opportunities

Market, jobs and careers

10 min

Cybersecurity combines market growth, regulatory obligation and a skills shortage. It is one of the most solid entry points into strategic digital careers.

$200bn+Spending$10.5tnCybercrime cost4.7MTalent gap
A market driven by the immense cost of insecurity.

5.1The macroeconomic order of magnitude

Gartner puts global cybersecurity spending at more than $200 billion a year in the mid-2020s, with double-digit growth driven by ransomware, AI and regulation. On the other side, Cybersecurity Ventures estimates the global cost of cybercrime at about $10.5 trillion a year.

$200bn+
Annual global cyber spending, order of magnitude in the mid-2020s
$10.5tn
Estimated annual cost of global cybercrime
4.7M
Estimated global shortage of cyber professionals

5.2The talent shortage

According to ISC2, the world has several million cyber professionals, but demand far exceeds supply. In France, the shortfall runs into tens of thousands of positions. The consequences: strong employability, salaries pushed upwards, pathways open to profiles that are not purely technical.

  • Technical: SOC analyst, pentester, incident response, cloud security, reverse engineering.
  • Governance: GRC consultant, CISO, crisis management, NIS2/DORA compliance.
  • Law and public policy: cyber lawyer, DPO, cyber diplomacy, ANSSI, ENISA, ministries.

5.3Promising segments

  • Regulatory compliance: NIS2, DORA, Cyber Resilience Act.
  • Cloud and identity security: two major attack surfaces.
  • AI security: protecting AI systems and using AI to defend.
  • Industrial security (OT): factories, energy, transport.
  • Cyber insurance: quantifying and transferring risk.

5.4Who captures the value?

  • Platforms: Microsoft, CrowdStrike, Palo Alto.
  • MSSPs: SMEs often buy a service rather than a tool.
  • Compliance consulting: the NIS2/DORA wave guarantees years of demand.
  • Vertical niches: health, industry, local authorities: exposed and poorly served sectors.
  • Legal offensive work: pentest and bug bounty, where the barrier to entry is talent.
Key takeaway for entrepreneurs

A defensible advantage comes from trust, certification and domain integration. The clearest opportunity: making compliance and operational security simple for SMEs, mid-sized companies, local authorities and non-profits.

Sources

Gartner, security spending forecasts; Cybersecurity Ventures, reports on the cost of cybercrime; ISC2, Cybersecurity Workforce Study; ENISA, market and skills reports.

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