According to new data from the UK government, the cybersecurity industry saw a 12% increase in total revenue in 2024, reaching £13.2 billion.

The UK government described this as an “exceptional performance” ratified by data from Companies House and a telephone survey.

The cybersecurity industry also saw other forms of growth, as a about 74 new firms cropped up in the last financial year, bringing the estimated total number of firms to 2165.

With these new firms, the sector also saw the creation of 6,600 new full-time positions to the sector, an increase of 11% year on year. The total workforce in the cyber industry is now at 67,300.

The majority (59%) offer services, where as about a quarter (26%) are product-focused vendors. 12% act as manages security service providers (MSSPs), while the 3% are resellers.

Most registered businesses are micro-businesses (56%), while medium (16%) and large (10%) make up a smaller proportion of cybersecurity firms.

Further, only a quarter (26%) of firms have an international presence – out of these, 52% have operations in the EU, whole 43% have some US operations.

The UK cybersecurity sector also saw a 21% increase in gross value added (GVA), which measures the net contribution of the sector to the economy, amounting to £7.8bn.

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The report also found that the sector attracted solid investments across 2024, with a total £206 million raised across 59 deals.

However, the report did reveal the consistent challenges that persist in the sector.

Skilled talent is still hard to come by, and was cited by 47% of those surveyed as a hurdle to improvement. Coupling this with the 46% who said that high salary demands prevented them from making key hires, and the sector appears stuck at an impasse.

Competition with rival businesses, which could be home-grown or international, was also cited (39%) by a challenge in the industry.

Overall, the yearly review appears positive for the sector’s growth, but also points to the growing burnout among workers in the industry.