The Italian cybersecurity market is undergoing strong development - with an average annual growth rate of 11-12%, for an estimated value of around 2.5 billion euros in 2025 - marked by extensive fragmentation, with over 3,000 companies, half of which are concentrated in three regions: Lazio, Campania and Lombardy. Starting from these results, the TIM Research Centre drew up the white paper 'Cybersecurity Made in Italy', which was presented today in Rome during the event where the best innovative cyber solutions have been awarded.
The event was opened by Elio Schiavo, TIM's Chief Enterprise and Innovative Solutions Officer, who illustrated the role of cyber technologies and the outlook for growth as part of the all-round digital services offer that TIM Enterprise provides to companies and the public administration. An analysis of the cybersecurity market in Italy provided by Giorgia Dragoni, Researcher at the Cybersecurity & Data Protection Observatory of the Politecnico di Milano was followed by the sessions of Eugenio Santagata, Chief Public Affairs and Security Officer of TIM and Chief Executive Officer of Telsy, and Bruno Frattasi, Director General of the Italian National Cybersecurity Agency, who highlighted the importance of working together to develop a national ecosystem of cybersecurity, in line with the initiatives in countries such as France and Germany, to consolidate sector growth within the country.
“It is time to set up certified proprietary technology that is managed within our country’s borders. Thus, we need specific experts and skills, but also a new culture. Today’s winning companies demonstrate the potential of Italian companies in the cybersecurity field and emphasise the importance of creating a cooperative ecosystem to guarantee digital security”, stated Eugenio Santagata, Chief Public Affairs and Security Officer of TIM and Chief Executive Officer of Telsy. “Our goal is to build a solid basis for Italian cybersecurity that can compete at international level. We want to attract investments and talents to our country, promote the development of innovative technology and create an environment that favours innovation. This is how we can effectively face cybersecurity challenges and provide reliable, cutting-edge solutions to protect our digital infrastructures”.
In 2022, cyber attacks reached the highest record ever and the greatest annual percentage growth: compared to 2021 +169% in Italy, while the percentage was +21% globally. Attacks in Italy represented 7.6% of the global total (Source: CLUSIT, Report 2023 on ICT Security in Italy).
In response to this scenario, as reported by the Cybersecurity & Data Protection Observatory of the Politecnico di Milano, the value of the Italian cybersecurity market recorded high growth rates: 15% and 18% in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
According to the report by the TIM Research Centre, cyber services companies that managed to establish themselves by following a clear growth path account for only 10 to 15 per cent of the market. Among these, two alternative models prevail: companies that focus on a single customer segment - e.g. with dedicated services for the banking system - and companies with a broader 'one stop shop' offer (more than half of the companies surveyed) with at least one proprietary technology (3/4 of the sample companies).
However, most of the market today is still polarised between large ICT groups whose offer portfolio also includes cyber services, and small, highly specialised companies that are struggling to grow, with a consequent much higher level of 'atomisation' compared to other large European countries. Specifically, according to the estimates of the TIM Research Centre, Italy has 1.6 cybersecurity companies per billion euro of GDP, double the figure in the United Kingdom (0.8 companies per billion euro of GDP) and also higher than Spain (1.2 companies per billion euro of GDP).
The ‘Cybersecurity Made in Italy Challenge’ was created with the specific goal of developing new solutions to combat the growing phenomenon linked to ICT risks, and to enrich the portfolio of TIM Enterprise and Telsy solutions that use innovative, proprietary national technologies.
The initiative is part of the activities of the TIM Growth Platform Open Innovation programme, the new innovation model based on industrial collaboration with high-potential companies in order to speed up their growth. The Challenge aims at bringing companies - especially Italian companies - that have ultra-specialised solutions and skills together with the requirements and needs of SMEs, with the goal of enabling the growth of the entire chain and accelerating the country’s digitisation and innovation.
The challenge involved, in just a few days, over 50 Italian and international companies, SMEs, start-ups and scale-ups to identify innovative solutions. The winners will be offered a technological and commercial partnership with TIM Enterprise and Telsy. The selected companies will have privileged access to the cybersecurity market and the possibility of further growth.
Specifically, the winning companies announced at the event were:
Ermes: for its solution that, using advanced machine learning algorithms, guarantees browser security, ensuring safe, protected online browsing, defending users from web threats, preserving their privacy and protecting their data.
Pikered: developer of ZAIUX Evo, a 'virtual hacker' that uses Artificial Intelligence to carry out 'ethical attacks', with the aim of identifying flaws in a computer network and providing insight for mitigating vulnerabilities.
Sensoworks: for its proposed solution for smart monitoring of strategic infrastructures (viaducts, tunnels, water systems), that acquires and analyses in real time the data from connected sensors, and enables prompt intervention, improving efficiency and safety.
The complete white paper ‘Cybersecurity Made in Italy’ can be viewed at the following link.
Rome, 20 June 2023
