Security Budget Growth Hits Five-Year Low Amid Economic Pressures

Average security budget growth has slowed to 4% year over year, marking the lowest rate recorded in the last five years, reports IANS Research and Artico Search. This contraction, a sharp decline from 8% in 2024, reflects growing business caution amid global market volatility and presses security leaders to make complex financial trade-offs.

According to the report, this trend stems from corporate responses to an uncertain macroeconomic environment, driven by geopolitical tensions, uncertain tariff policies, and fluctuating inflation and interest rates.

"Once again, we find that security budgets are not immune to macro conditions. Despite most companies identifying cyber as a top five business risk, most CISOs are not receiving budget increases commensurate with the increase in security program scope," says Steve Martano, Partner, Artico Search. “Data shows that cybersecurity programs are no longer insulated from broader economic pressures.”

The 2025 Security Budget Benchmark Report, the sixth annual study from IANS Research and Artico Search, is based on a survey conducted from April to August 2025 with 587 Chief Information Security Officers (CISO) from a diverse range of industries and company sizes. The report found that as the cyberthreat landscape grows more complex and security responsibilities expand, the resources allocated to manage them are not keeping pace.

"Security is being treated like any other business unit — its budget is largely a reflection of the macro environment and organizational goals," says Nick Kakolowski, Senior Research Director, IANS. "This is challenging as security's scope is rapidly increasing, putting pressure on CISOs to prioritize strategically and build organizational consensus around risk tolerances relative to budget availability."

The report found that the security budget as a percentage of total IT spending declined from 11.9% to 10.9%. This occurred because a rebound in overall IT investment, driven by AI and cloud projects, outpaced the modest growth in security budgets.

This budget constraint critically extends to human capital. Security staff growth slowed to 7%, its lowest level in four years. The report data shows that only 11% of surveyed CISOs believe their teams are adequately staffed. The remaining 89% describe their teams as stretched thin or understaffed.

This staffing shortage has severe operational implications. Martano notes the downstream effects "are real and include reduced team morale, delayed, or stalled initiatives and a growing gap between the company’s risk appetite and operational security." This gap represents a tangible organizational risk that can lead to increased vulnerability to security incidents and data breaches.

Looking ahead to the 2025–2026 planning cycle, the report suggests CISOs must adopt a more rigorous approach to budget justification. The narrative must move beyond listing threats to articulating risk in business terms. Success will depend on a CISO’s ability to build organizational consensus on acceptable risk levels to secure the necessary funding in this new economic environment.