Regardless of the economic situation, it is crucial that businesses protect themselves from disaster, and they cannot afford to cut back on their cybersecurity during recessions. Here are some ways the landscape may change due to the recession: Cybercrime Increases Over the last few years, the threat landscape has increased significantly. IBM reports show that production increased from 6,368 malware pieces per month in 2005 to more than 17 million in 2022. CEOs are increasingly reassessing their spending and putting strategic plans on hold. A survey conducted before the Russian invasion of Ukraine found that 87% of respondents marked cybersecurity as an essential concern over 3-5 years, 53% saw an increase in threats, and 80% of companies expected to increase or maintain their tech spending for 2023. Another survey found that only 9% of respondents don't believe the war in Ukraine will impact their organization, compared to 90% worried about associated cyberattacks. Digital transformation continues to be a top priority for 58% of respondents. Companies may continue improving their cyber defenses due to the increased risks of post-pandemic remote culture and new SEC rules on cybersecurity disclosure. The Expert Shortage Will Increase Many analysts are concerned that the talent shortage will worsen as economic uncertainty might lead to organizations pausing hiring or cutting existing employees. Organizations that cut costs and decide to refrain from taking on new security hires will inevitably exacerbate their cyber skills gap, meaning security leaders will rely on monitoring and analytics-based solutions. Experts have said that the first impact of a recession is that new hiring gets postponed. Still, the productivity of operations staff can be increased by security monitoring and analytics tools, many of which are open-source and don't require acquisition spending. However, these solutions "require analyst skills," so organizations must invest in staff with the expertise to configure and use these tools to their full potential. CISOs Will Have to Maximize Value As organizations adjust to the financial instability accompanying the recession, CISOs will be pressured to optimize cost efficiency. This will involve eliminating expensive tools while finding ways to get more use out of existing solutions. Experts say in 2023, there will be more pressure on CISOs and security leaders to maximize the value of their existing security stacks. CISOs will need to adapt as opposed to adding more solutions. Businesses that fail to adhere to this will become an easier target for cybercriminals.