The world market foranti-virus softwareproducts reached
£2.46bn last year, up 17.1% from the previous year, according to
analyst Frost & Sullivan.
The market is expected to reach £5.1bn by 2013, said the
analyst, with growth fuelled by the commercialisation of
cyber-crime.
Frost & Sullivan said increased identity theft and stolen
passwords were driving the consumer market and the threat of the
loss of intellectual property and customer data, and the targeting
of corporate websites was generating increased revenue in the
enterprise market.
"Cyber-crime is now amongst the most important revenue sectors
for global organised crime", said Frost & Sullivan analyst
Katie Gotzen. "Because of this, the potential
risks associated with malware have risen dramatically," she
said.
Gotzen said that in the consumer market, Microsoft's entry has
driven prices down and has led the traditional security
heavyweights to rethink their strategies.
In the enterprise space, non-security players are now developing
a presence in the market, she said.