By 2030, preemptive cybersecurity solutions will account for 50% of IT security spending, up from less than 5% in 2024, according to Gartner.

These solutions will be replacing standalone detection and response (DR) solutions as the preferred approach to defend against cyber threats.

Preemptive cybersecurity technologies use advanced AI and machine learning (ML) to anticipate and neutralise threats before they materialise. It includes capabilities such as predictive threat intelligence, advanced deception and automated moving target defence.

“Preemptive cybersecurity will soon be the new gold standard for every entity operating on, in, or through the various interconnected layers of the global attack surface grid (GASG),” said Carl Manion, Managing Vice President at Gartner.

“DR-based cybersecurity will no longer be enough to keep assets safe from AI-enabled attackers. Organisations will need to deploy additional countermeasures that act preemptively and independently of humans to neutralize potential attackers before they strike.

“Ignoring the shift brought by AI-driven cyber threats poses a significant and escalating risk to product and innovation leaders. By clinging to reactive security strategies as their primary line of defence, they will expose their products, services and customers to a new, rapidly escalating level of danger.”

Due to the rapid expansion of the global attack surface grid, Gartner predicts that by 2030 there will be over 1 million documented cybersecurity common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVEs) up 300% from approximately 277,000 in 2025.

The future of a secure digital world hinges on the commitment to embrace the transformative potential of the Autonomous Cyber Immune System (ACIS) – the ultimate evolution of preemptive cybersecurity for the complex, rapidly growing global attack surface grid.

“The relentless expansion and increasing sophistication of the GASG render traditional, reactive cybersecurity measures obsolete. Though early in its development, the proactive and adaptive power of the ACIS, is unequivocally the future of digital defence,” said Manion.

“The development and deployment of intelligent, decentralized, tactical ACIS frameworks are not merely aspirational goals, but an eventual absolute imperative for safeguarding our increasingly interconnected world.”

Gartner also predicts that there will be a shift from broad, one-size-fits-all DR security platforms toward more targeted and effective preemptive cybersecurity solutions, many of which will be based on agentic AI and domain-specific language models (DSLMs).

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This focus on niche areas will present many opportunities for new and existing security vendors to carve out distinct market segments by deeply understanding the unique security challenges. These include: specific verticals, particular application types, and specific threat actor methodologies.

“This emphasis on specialisation will drive increased collaboration and integration within the cybersecurity ecosystem. Because no single vendor can effectively address the entirety of the GASG, partnerships and interoperability between specialised solutions will become even more crucial,” Manion said.

“For instance, a vendor specialising in preemptive cybersecurity for IoT devices in the healthcare sector might need to integrate with a platform focused on securing cloud-based electronic health records,” Manion added.

“Such interdependencies will create opportunities for technology alliances, joint go-to-market strategies, and the development of standardized APIs and data formats to facilitate seamless interaction between disparate security solutions.”