Celebrating 20 Years of Cybersecurity Awareness

October brings more than pumpkin spice lattes, falling leaves, and spooky season; it’s also Cybersecurity Awareness Month. This year marks the 20th anniversary of Cybersecurity Awareness Month, a collaborative effort between government and industry that highlights the importance of cybersecurity education for every organization and consumer. 

This annual campaign reminds us all of the critical importance of safeguarding organizations, our digital lives, and data. Let’s face it: our lives revolve around the internet. It’s where we work, communicate with friends and family, and store much of our sensitive data. But this convenience comes at a cost—the risk of cyber threats like hacking, phishing, ransomware, and identity theft are always lurking, and cybercriminals are getting smarter by the minute. 

Cyber attacks are predicted to cost the global economy a staggering $10.3 trillion USD annually by the end of 2025. Thankfully, cybersecurity companies are working hard to provide innovative solutions that safeguard data and stave off cyber threats. 

At Offleash, we’ve witnessed firsthand the rapid evolution of the cybersecurity industry over the last 20 years, and our portfolio reflects that. Cybersecurity companies now make up over 45 percent of our client roster, spanning many market segments—from asset intelligence, to bot mitigation and management, network security, API security, data security, and beyond.

Our current cybersecurity portfolio includes: Armis, Cato Networks, Code42, Descope, Kasada, Kandji, Noname Security, RecoAI, Rubrik, TripleBlind, Uptycs, and Vectra AI. The solutions our clients contribute to the market will only become more critical as cyber threats continue to increase in frequency and sophistication.

But how did we get here in the first place?

The heightened need for cybersecurity solutions has been fueled by a combination of technological advancements, evolving threats, and changing business practices that have occurred in the past few decades.

The advent of the internet, mobile, cloud computing, and IoT have drastically expanded attack surfaces over the years—organizations now have more to manage and protect than ever before. Additionally, the emergence of data protection regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, and CCPA has placed a greater emphasis on data security, resulting in new compliance requirements companies must adhere to. Most recently, the proliferation of AI has created exponentially more new attack vectors (it is of course also proving to be a crucial tool for threat detection and response). 

In short, things have gotten complicated for companies when it comes to maintaining security. But on the bright side, cybersecurity is no longer a dirty little word that no one talks about, kept hidden away in the shadows. Everyone—from individual consumers to large corporations—has a role to play in safeguarding our interconnected world. As one client so astutely said, “Shouldn’t every month be cybersecurity awareness month?” We couldn’t agree more.