Cybersecurity
Perspectives 2024
Enterprises Race to Defend Against
Accelerated Pace of Emerging ThreatsTable of Contents
Section 1 :Introduction

3

Section 2 :Key Findings

4

Section 3 :Where the Threats Are

5

Section 4 : How Enterprises Are Responding

7

Section 5 :Resource Gaps: People, Technology & Budget

9

Section 6 :Market Opportunities

15

Section 7 :Where the Funding Is

17

Section 8 :Conclusion

19

Section 9 :Endnotes & Methodology

20

SECTION 1

Introduction
The shift to the cloud, like most transformational technologies, has been a slow transition overthe past decade. In the past five years, we’ve seen more enterprises making the shift to cloudbased infrastructure and applications and, as they do, they become reliant on third-party cloudproviders, opening new vulnerabilities and areas of exposure that didn’t exist before.
As CISOs seek stable ground in the face of increasing cloud complexity, a new trend has emerged:

AI acts as an accelerant, promising efficiency,
automation, and a lower barrier to entry for bothdefenders and attackers.
In order to keep up with threat actors, CISOs are increasingly looking at AI to improve their own
security posture, with 89% of security leaders indicating that AI is important to improving theirsecurity in 2025.
As these trends converge, Scale Venture Partners has conducted ongoing research to understandthe challenges CISOs are facing and how solutions are evolving. Now in its 11th year, this year’s
report consolidates perspectives from CISOs, CIOs, VPs, directors, and IT managers.
Our research shows more security incidents, with 76% of companies reporting three or moresecurity incident types. Cloud infrastructure security reclaimed the top priority spot for CISOs, anddata center/server security jumped in importance from 8th in 2023 to second.

While we’re still in the early days of AI adoption,
CISOs are taking a proactive stance.
Although budget growth has slowed, enterprises allocated 29% more budget toward new,innovative, and experimental security solutions this year.
In the face of increased threats, contracting budgets, and continued talent shortages, CISOs are
strategizing to ensure they don’t fall behind in the AI arms race while navigating security in the ageof cloud apps and cloud infrastructure.

* Note: Unless specifically documented, all data sources are from Scale Venture Partners’ primary survey research,and YoY% is used to represent relative change (as opposed to absolute change) throughout.

SECTION 2

Key Findings
Data breaches increased, led by phishing and third-party attacks
38% more companies suffered data breaches last year, with 31% ofsurveyed enterprises affected. Nearly 50% of firms lost credentials tophishing and third-party attacks, as cybercriminals used legitimate identity
privileges to spread ransomware, exfiltrate data, and extort victims.

CISOs prioritized cloud infrastructure and data center security
Increased ransomware, supply chain attacks, and data breaches drove
security strategies this year. Top priorities were cloud infrastructure security(1st), data center security (2nd), and identity access management (3rd), alongwith data privacy (4th), data security (5th), and anti-data exfiltration (7th).

Attackers targeted AI models while security played catch up
AI was the second most unaddressed challenge after ransomware.
11% of firms suffered AI model drift from security incidents last year,
a 304% YoY increase, with 46% unable to observe or monitor AI drift. 63%
were concerned about governing AI/ML models in third-party software.

Security budget growth showed signs of slowing
Insufficient budgets ranked as the third biggest barrier for security leaders.
Mid-sized security budgets declined 1%, down from growth rates of 5% in2022 and 51% in 2023. Enterprise security budgets grew more slowly at 16%
YoY, down from a 22% YoY increase last year, a 27% decline in growth rate.

Market gaps found in software supply chain security and ADX
Market opportunities were uncovered in software supply chain security, data
center security, and anti-data exfiltration (ADX), with a 42%+ delta between“satisfaction” and “importance.” 47% of firms intended to build in-house tools,
but of those, only 9% for ADX and 7% for software supply chain security.

4

SECTION 3

Where the Threats Are
Nearly half of all companies were compromised by phishing and third-party attacks
Almost 50% of organizations experienced
phishing or third-party attacks that resulted
in compromised credentials last year. Around
37% of firms reported cloud service attacks,
down 25% YoY from 50% the previous year.

However, cybercriminals pivoted fromransomware-based data encryption toward
immediate threats of publishing stolen data,
leading to a 76% uptick in data extortion lastyear, according to Crowdstrike.1

Data breaches spiked 38% YoY, affecting 31%
of enterprises, as ransomware reboundedfrom 25% in 2022 to 30% in 2023, allowing
attackers to exfiltrate valuable data.

Security teams struggled to protect AI models,
while trying to fully realize AI’s true potential.
Security incidents caused AI model drift at 11%
of enterprises last year, up 304% YoY.

What security incidents occurred at your organization over the last 12 months?

49%

48%

37%

31%

Phishing attack
compromised
credentials

Compromisedby attack on
3rd party

Cloud service
attacked

Data breachof sensitive
information

30%

30%

28%

25%

Employeestole ourinformation

Ransomware
encrypted
our data

Misconfigured
cloud accessrights led todata breachCompromisedby software
supply chain
vulnerability5

W H E RE T H E T H RE A TS A RESECTION 3

Attackers gain higher ROI with identity-based attacks
Cybercriminals used stolen credentials to legitimately access cloudinfrastructure and data centers instead of hacking vulnerabilities,
with double-digit increases in phishing and third-party attacks YoY.

30%

A single software supply chain attack or third-party attack allows
threat actors to breach multiple downstream victims, thereby
increasing their ROI and efficiency, according to Crowdstrike.2
Results have been devastating, with “identity-based” breaches
the hardest to detect (328 days) and second-most expensive toresolve ($4.62M) on average, according to IBM Security.3of all security incidents
IBM responded to lastyear were “identity4
based” attacks.

Security teams responded to three or more incident types

76%

There was an increase in the number of companies that experienced
multiple security incident types last year, as 76% of enterprises
reported three or more incidents. Firms with one incident typedeclined 76% YoY, down from 19% to only 5%. The number ofcompanies with four incident types increased 341% over the last two
years, up from 7% in 2021 to 29% in 2023. Data breaches affected
mid-sized (37%) firms more than large enterprises (29%) in 2023.

Experienced
three or more typesof security incidents

How many security incident types occurred at your company in 2023?
30%

19%

30%
27%

2022

33%

2023

29%
24%

17% 19%
11%

8%

7%

5%

3% 3% 1%

0

2021

1

2

3

5%

4

5

9%

7%

5% 4%

6

2% 1%

0%

7

6

SECTION 4

How Enterprises Are Responding
Both cloud infrastructure and data denter security top list for first time since 2016
Cloud infrastructure security, data center security, and identity access management topped the list,
as security leaders re-shuffled priorities in response to increased ransomware and data breaches.
Data-related security filled three spots as CISOs scrambled to protect data across on-premise,
hybrid, and multi-cloud environments. Anti-data exfiltration and software supply chain security
joined the list, while network security dropped from first place last year off the Top 10 entirely.

What are your top investment priorities for cybersecurity technologies and strategies?
2021

2022

2023

2024

1st

Cloud infrastructure security

2ndData center / server security

3rd

Identity & access management

4th

Data privacy

5thData security / DLP

6thSoftware supply chain security

7thAnti-data exfiltration (ADX)

8th

Security automation

9th

Attack surface management

10th

Cloud application security

2023

Network security

2022

Endpoint security

Zero-trust network access
2021

Operational technology (OT)7

H OW E N T E RPRIS ES A RE RES P O N D I N G

SECTION 4

CISOs react to ransomware once again
Ransomware continued to occupy the most
CISO headspace this year, influencing 68% ofcybersecurity strategies, despite a 19% decline inattention from an 84% high last year.
Security leaders also expressed growing concerns
over supply chain attacks (61%) this year, as well
as decreased cybersecurity budgets (53%), whichhave historically remained resilient. Long-held
worries about the cybersecurity skills gap (57%) anddata privacy requirements (56%) have tapered off
by 18% and 9% respectively since last year.

68%

61%

Ransomware
attacks

Supply chain
attacks

58%

57%

Hyperscale clouddata breaches

Cybersecurity
skills gap

Security leaders adopted fewer strategic priorities, cooling on vendor consolidation
Security leaders ranked too much manual labor (51%) as the biggest barrier to achieving their desired
security posture this year, followed by not enough security personnel (48%) and insufficient budget (45%).
For the third year in a row, their top strategic priority was to enforce existing security policies morestrictly (73%). With nearly 50% of firms compromised by a third-party attack last year, security leaders
hoped to improve insight into third-party risk (58%) and govern AI/ML built into third-party software(63%), which debuted this year as the second priority. After two years of security vendor consolidation,
CISOs cooled on this strategy, which dropped 30% YoY from a 62% high to this year’s 48% low.

Top 3 Barriers:
Too much manual labor associated w/ security
44%
51%
Not enough security personnel
57%
48%
Insufficient budget
44%
45%

Top 3 Priorities:

2022

Enforce existing security policies more strictly

2023
83%

73%
Governing AI/ML built into third-party software
0% (Not Asked)
63%
Expanding accountability for security across enterprise
55%
58%

8

SECTION 5

Resource Gaps: People
Security teams remain understaffed because of the cybersecurity skills shortage
Four million cybersecurity professionals
are still needed to close the growing global
cybersecurity skills gap, according to ISC2.5

Security team changes:

75% of security leaders planned to hire
additional security personnel over the next
12 months. However, 57% were unable tofind people with the required skill set.

75%
Hire additional personnel to fill missing positions
62%
60%
Appoint technical expert to senior leadership team54%
58%
Train our security team in security best practices
61%
57%

Another 50% were unable to pay enoughsalary to attract new staff or wereconcerned their current staff would leave
for better paid positions at another firm.

2022

2024

Hire additional personnel to expand the team58%

CISO hiring strategies constrained“Priority” vs. “effectiveness” of strategies
to address the cybersecurity skills gap:

62% of security leaders believed the mosteffective strategy for addressing the
cybersecurity skills gap was to increase
the salary range for cybersecurity roles,
yet only 21% of firms actually intended toincrease salaries to attract new talent.

Move current non-cyber staff into security roles
50%
52%
Headhunt security pros from other organizations
47%
62%
Partner with industry training organizations
43%
63%
Offer more training for current cybersecurity staff
42%
58%
Increase salary ranges to attract new talent
21%
62%

50% of CISOs intended to identify current
staff in non-cyber roles who could moveinto security roles, despite only 52% ofcompanies believing this strategy waseffective. Training strategies were lessprioritized, but considered more effective.

9

RES O U RC E GA P S : PE O PL E

SECTION 5

Cloud infrastructure security roles are hardest to fill
Security leaders had the most difficult time hiring and retaining cloudinfrastructure security roles (60%), followed by application security
roles (59%), and AI/ML security roles (58%). The cybersecurity skills
shortage has had less impact on cloud application security roles (52%),
network security roles (52%), and IT security roles (48%) since last year.

Which security roles are most impacted
by the cybersecurity skills shortage?
49% 48%

53% 58%ITsecurity

AI/ML
security

55% 59%Application
security

2023
2024
60% 62%

56% 52%

60%

Network
security

Cloud
Cloud
app
infrastructure
security
security

52%

C-SuiteSupport:86%of security leadersbelieved their C-suite
understands thebusiness impact of
security

Cybersecurity staff retention challenges persist
More than half of security leaders believed cybersecurity teammembers were unsatisfied with their jobs, salary, and work culture.
Although 12% of security teams turned over last year, 52% of CISOs
were concerned their teams would soon leave because of burnout andextreme workloads. 43% of security leaders were worried their staff
would leave the cybersecurity industry to do something else entirely.

53%

52%

43%

Believecurrent staff unsatisfied
with job, salary & culture

Concerned
current staff will leave
due to extreme workloads

Concerned
current staff will leaveindustry entirely

Cybersecurity
Turnover:12%of security teams
experienced turnover
within the last 12 months

10

SECTION 5

Resource Gaps: Technology
CISOs underestimate protections against rising phishing attacks and data breaches
The average effectiveness of cybersecurity
protections declined for the third year in arow, falling the most against crypto jacking(-18%), targeted phishing attacks (-15%),and data privacy compliance (-14%).

Despite an increase in the frequency andvolume of attacks, cybersecurity effectiveness
reportedly increased the most against data
breaches (+11%), unpatched vulnerabilities(+10%), and nation-state attacks (+10%).

Cybersecurity protections were least
effective in governing AI/ML capabilities
built into third-party software (39%), a
question which was asked for the first timein this year’s survey.

Although 61% of security leaders believed
they were most protected against generalphishing attacks, almost 50% of firms lost
compromised credentials to phishing attacks
last year with 31% affected by data breaches.

How “effective” or “extremely effective” are your current cybersecurity protections?
Effectiveness Declined:

Effectiveness Increased:

2023
2024

General phishing attacks

Crypto jacking

55%

50%

61%

42%
Targeted phishing attacks
50%
44%
Non-compliance with data privacy regulations
52%
46%
Supply chain threats
47%
45%
Negligence by employees / insiders
46%
44%

Breach of sensitive information

49%
55%
Exploitation of unpatched vulnerabilities
44%
49%

Nation-state attacks
Ransomware

44%
49%
48%
50%

11

RES O U RC E GA P S : T E C H N O LO GY

SECTION 5

Ransomware is the top unaddressed challenge
Four of the top five challenges aligned with an increasein the types of security incidents enterprises experienced last year.
Ransomware was the top unaddressed challenge, with security leaders
worried about “double extortion attacks,” followed by AI/ML (2nd),
third-party attacks (3rd), and cyber attacks (5th).

Unaddressed Challenges in Security Leaders’ Own Words
Ransomware“Ransomware is more sophisticated.”

AI/ML“AI makes hackers harder to defend.”

Third-party attacks“Third-party threats compromised credentials.”

Cyber attacks“Data breaches are escalating.”

Security Tools:

43%
expected theirsecurity stack tochange 1-5%

43%

% Change in
Security Stackin 202436%

5%

AI/ML is the second most unaddressed challenge

1-5%

89% of security leaders believe AI/ML is “important” toimprove their security posture by 2025, up from 79% last year. 63% offirms were concerned about governing AI/ML capabilities built into
third-party software. 55% of companies were worried about drift in AI
models over time, as well as the risk of AI/ML models being poisonedby threat actors to circumvent security. CISOs were less concerned
about employees uploading sensitive data to ChatGPT (53%) this year.

6-10%

11-15%

91%

want to deploy
more security tools
over the next 12 months

+8

63%

55%

55%

Governing AI/ML
capabilities built into
third-party software

Drift inAI modelsover time

Poisoningof AI/ML models tocircumvent security

Average # of new tools
budgeted for this year

+18
Average # of new tools
preferred to deploy

12

SECTION 5

Resource Gaps: Budget
Large enterprise security budget growth slowed, while mid-sized budgets stalled
Once resilient security budgets showed signsof fatigue against economic headwinds,
as security leaders ranked “insufficientbudgets” the third biggest barrier toachieving their desired security posture.

As security budgets came under pressure,
CISOs were “very smart and almost surgicalwith the precision” in which technologies
they invested in to prevent ongoing threats,
according to The Wall Street Journal.6

Large enterprise security budgets still went
up 16%, increasing at a slower pace this year
after achieving growth rates of 22% and 19%
over the last two years. Mid-sized security
budgets went down 1%, falling slightly after
5% and 51% growth in 2022 and 2023.

Security leaders allocated 10% of security
budgets to data security and cloud security,
the top two spending categories this year.
Information security, infrastructure security,
data security, and AI/ML security all
received budget increases this year.

What is your total budget and category allocations for security solutions in 2024?
$5,715

Softwaresupply chain
Data security

Securityawareness training
AI/ML
security

7%

7%

10%
10%

7%

Identity
management
Endpoint
security

Cloudsecurity

8%

Information
security

9%8%$3,751$3,154$3,000$2,198$1,624

9%
8%

8%

9%

Disasterrecovery
Application
security

Infrastructure
security
Network
security

2023
Mean budget
per employee

2024

2024 (Ideal)
Median budget
per employee

13

RES O U RC E GA P S : B U D G E T

SECTION 5

8

CISOs adjusted to smaller security budgets than expected
CISOs would have asked for 52% more budget than approved in 2024,
compared with 24% more budget than approved in 2023, a 117% YoYgain mirroring the fiscal constraints security leaders faced this year.
Under ideal budget scenarios, security leaders would have allocatedmore budget toward infrastructure (+3%), data (+3%), AI/ML (+2%),
information security (+2%), and disaster recovery (+1%). They would
have prioritized less budget for application (-4%), network (-4%),
endpoint (-3%), software supply chain (-3%), and cloud security (-1%).

More Budget is Ideal for 2024

Less Budget is Ideal for 2024

Infrastructure security (+3%)

Application security (-4%)

Data security (+3%)

Network security (-4%)

AI/ML security (+2%)

Endpoint security (-3%)

Information security (+2%)

Software supply chain security (-3%)

Disaster recovery (+1%)

Cloud security (-1%)

Mid-sized Enterprises(500-999 employees)-1%Year-over-Year
Budget Decline$200K-$13M
Budget Range

8

Security leaders invested in experimental security budgets
Enterprises allocated 29% more budget for new, innovative, andexperimental security solutions this year, up from 11% to 15% of
total budget. Security leaders expressed interest in the potentialof emerging technologies, such as AI, zero trust network access,blockchain, and machine learning to “stay ahead of threat actors.”

11%

15%

29%

Percentage
of 2023 total budget
for emerging solutions

Percentage
of 2024 total budget
for emerging solutions

Year-over-Yearbudget growthfor emerging solutions

Large Enterprises(1,000+ employees)

16%Year-over-Year
Budget Growth$300K-$155M
Budget Range

14

SECTION 6

Market Opportunities
Market gaps found in software supply chain security and anti-data exfiltration“Better security solutions” were reported as
one of the top five unaddressed challenges
this year for enterprises to “save time,
resources, and improve accuracy.”

Cloud infrastructure security (79%), data centersecurity (79%), and identity access management(78%) were the most important tools.

43% of CISOs were unable to find the rightcybersecurity tools in the market, a 37% YoY
increase over the last three years.

The biggest market gaps were found insoftware supply chain security, data centersecurity, and anti-data exfiltration, with a
42%+ delta in “importance” and “satisfaction.”

Security leaders were least satisfied with
software supply chain security (41%), alongwith endpoint security, security automation,
and anti-data exfiltration (42%) tools.

47% of firms intended to build in-house tools,
but of those, only 9% for ADX and 7% forsoftware supply chain security, comparedwith 30% for data center security.

Current “importance” vs. “satisfaction” for commercially-available cybersecurity tools:
Software supply chain security

Cloud infrastructure security
58%

79%

Data center / server security
46%
Identity and access management (IAM)
58%

79%

78%

Data privacy
49%

42%
Security automation technologies
42%
External attack surface management

76%
43%
Cloud application security

Data loss protection (DLP)
48%

72%
41%
Anti-data exfiltration (ADX)

75%

43%

72%

71%

71%
71%

15

M A RKE T O PP O RT U N I T I ESSECTION 6

AI tops list of emerging innovations with greatest potential
The majority of security leaders believe AI is the emerging innovationthat offers the greatest potential to boost cybersecurity. Respondents
were hopeful in AI’s ability to “self-react to threats,” “streamline risk
evaluation,” “enhance efficiency and accuracy,” “enable prompt issue
resolution,” and “leave more time and energy for our teams.”

Believe AI/ML is important
to improve their security
posture by 2025

Interest in building cloud infrastructure security solutions jumps 145% YoY
The number of firms that intended to build
in-house tools increased for the third year ina row, up 21% in that period to 47% this year,
as interest in cloud infrastructure security
solutions skyrocketed 145% since last year.

Security teams were most likely to build
in-house solutions for cloud infrastructure
security (40%), identity access management(35%), threat intelligence (34%), and cloud
application security (33%).

Of those firms interested in building in-housetools, 75% were large enterprises with morethan 1,000 employees and 25% were midsized companies with 500 to 999 employees.

Firms were least likely to build in-house tools
for anti-data exfiltration (9%), AI/ML model
security (9%), software supply chain security(7%), and CI/CD security (1%).

Most likely solutions to build in-house over the next 12 months:

40%

Cloud
infrastructure
security

35%
Identity& accessmanagement

34%

33%

Threatintelligence

Cloudapplication
security

Least likely solutions to build in-house over the next 12 months:

9%
AI/ML
model
security

9%

7%

1%

Anti-data
exfiltration

Softwaresupply chain
security

CI/CD
Security

16

SECTION 7

Where the Funding Is
Cybersecurity investment dropped 46%, falling sharply across all stages of funding
Cybersecurity funding declined last year,
falling 46% over four consecutive quarters toreach $9.6B in 2023, down from its $24.6B
all-time peak in 2021 and $17.8B in 2022,
according to Pitchbook.7

Deal count fell to 693 deals in 2023, down
14% YoY from 919 deals in 2022, with 34%
fewer angel/seed deals and 23% less earlystage deals, as “generalist VCs shied awayfrom the vertical,” according to Pitchbook.8

Funding dropped across all stages, driven
by a 60% reduction in late-stage (Series C
and D) deal activity, unlike 2022 when angel,
seed, and early-stage (Series A and B)
funding increased despite the downturn.

Exit value actually increased to $4.4B in
2023, up 52% YoY from $2.9B in 2022,
despite less overall deal flow. That value isan 86% contraction from the industry’s alltime peak of $30.8B in 2021.

Global security investment by funding stage:
cybersecurity$9.6B Global
VC deal activity in 2023
Angel
& seed10%23%(Source: Pitchbook Emerging Tech Research)-46% Year-over-Yearin 2023 Funding
$9.2B

Early
stage
(Series
A & B)$3.9B

29%$1.3B $1B
Venturegrowth(Series E,
etc.)

38%

Late
stage
(SeriesC & D)

2022
2023

Angel
& seed

$3.7B $3.4B
$2.2B

Early
stage

Late
stage

$2.7B

Venturegrowth17

W H E RE T H E F U N D I N G IS

SECTION 7

Application security accounted for 25%+ of all angel, seed, and early-stage funding
Application security received the mostfunding last year, despite falling 33% YoY inangel/seed capital from $430M in 2022 to$289M in 2023 and receding 59% YoY acrossearly-stage rounds from $1.2B to $491M.
Angel/seed funding saw double-digit growth
YoY between 2022 and 2023 in security
operations (+16%), increasing from $158M
to $184M, along with identity accessmanagement (+12%) from $140M to $156M.
All other categories contracted, with data
security (-58%) experiencing the steepest
decline, down from $258M to $107M.

Angel/seed:
Application
security

$430M
$289M

YoY %

Early-stage funding fell further YoY from2022 and 2023, down heavily across all but
two categories. Security operations (-65%) fell
from $866M to $306M, while data security(-57%) dropped from $757M to $327M, andendpoint security (-28%) shrunk from $490M
to $354M. Identity access management (-3%)
slipped slightly, down from $303M to $293M.
Despite 19% YoY growth in early-stage rounds,
network security companies raised the least
funding across angel, seed, and early-stages
last year, echoing its decline from this year’s
Top 10 List of security spending priorities.

YoY %Early-stage (Series A & B):

-33%

$1.2B

$491M
$757M

-59%

Data
security

$258M
$107M

-58%

$327M

Endpoint
security

$161M
$122M

-24%

$490M
$354M

-28%

Identity& access

$140M
$156M

+12%

$303M

-3%

Network
security

$105M
$88M

-16%

$158M
$184M

Security
operations
2022

2023

+16%

$293M
$199M
$237M

+19%
$866M

$306M

-57%

-65%

(Source: Pitchbook Emerging Tech Research)

18

SECTION 8

Conclusion
There have been some new challenges facing CISOs in the last year. From a resourcing
perspective, the macroeconomic headwinds in tech that security teams had previously been
resilient to have impacted budget growth, while staffing remains a persistent obstacle.

While securing technology has always been an arms
race, with AI it’s moving at a new velocity.
Still, it’s encouraging that even with slowing budget growth, CISOs are leading the charge to makesure their security posture is as robust as it can be in the face of increasing complexity.

CISOs are finding ways to invest in innovative security
solutions that address the changing threat landscape.
As investors, we have a shared interest with CISOs in making sure security is keeping pace withemerging technologies. Despite the drop in venture funding, we are excited about the market
opportunities we see in cybersecurity. We’re particularly interested in cloud security solutions,application security solutions, and tools powered by AI/ML.
​​
While
this is the first year of slowed budget growth, the drop in funding and dearth of security
talent may be the new normal. Security teams will continue to be creative and look to innovative
solutions to bridge the gap.

SSECTIONE C T I O N 94

Endnotes
1, 2. CrowdStrike, 2024 Cloud Risk Report:
From Breakout to Breach in Under Three
Minutes; Cloud Infrastructure Under Attack,February 2024

6. Catherine Stupp, James Rundle,
Cyber Leaders With Tight Budgets Still Must
Secure AI, Cloud, The Wall Street Journal,
January 2024

3, 4. IBM Security, Cost of a Data Breach
Report 2023, July 2023

7, 8. Pitchbook, Emerging Tech Research:
Q4 2023 Information Security Report:
VC trends and emerging opportunities,
January 2024

5. ISC2, 2023 Cybersecurity Workforce Study:
How the Economy, Skills Gap andArtificial Intelligence are Challenging the
Global Cybersecurity Workforce, October
2023

Methodology
Scale Venture Partners commissioned Everclear Marketing and Osterman Research to conduct asurvey of 300 security leaders in the United States who are responsible for buying decisions, thesuccess of security deployments, or the overall security of the company. The web-based survey was
fielded March 4-15, 2024, focused on the 12 months prior and 12 months upcoming, with a +/- 3.395%
margin of error.
You can view Scale’s past Cybersecurity Perspectives reports here:
2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017

scalevp.com