The Application security solutions mitigate the security risks associated with the operation of various applications, including web and mobile applications. It was projected that web apps would continue to be the leading source of proven security vulnerabilities. With enterprises connecting over the internet to a growing number of business-critical apps, the risk of a security compromise has steadily increased. As a result, the market for application security has witnessed an increase in demand for web applications in tandem with the rise in vulnerabilities.
As the hazards involved with data breaches increased, governments in numerous nations implemented restrictions. Every country, area, and organization working on a global scale has its structure, legislation, and standards to establish an environment that offers sufficient opportunities to preserve cyberspace security.
According to Search Compliance, some researchers estimate that 90% of already deployed software contains application layer security vulnerabilities. As a result, fraudsters are employing apps to infiltrate business infrastructure, implant malware, and exfiltrate data, and app security policies are emerging to counteract this new threat. The transition of cybersecurity from a reactive measure to one that compensates for predictive and prescriptive effects is visible in the formulation of stringent rules to prevent data theft in numerous nations throughout the globe. With such demands on the horizon, the global usage of market-researched solutions has increased.
Third-party app growth, user installation, and app permissions are driven mainly by their ability to entice consumers with innovations. Using third-party SaaS applications can dramatically expand the functionality and capabilities of a company's public cloud environment, but they can also present security risks. Most apps have access to read, write, and delete sensitive data, which can significantly impact security, business, and compliance risk.
Third-party app stores have grown due to an increase in the number of apps and the cost of making them available through certified app stores, as mandated by legislation. Multiple third-party applications are incredibly susceptible to attacks and data breaches. Aptoide is the largest, claiming a global user base of 150 million and one million apps. The third-party app shop stated that a hacker who claimed to have stolen 39 million client records and released 20 million of their credentials, including login emails and hashed passwords, on a prominent hacker forum, had breached it. As such occurrences increased, the necessity for application security gained widespread acceptance.
By region, the global application security market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East & Africa.
North America accounted for the highest market share and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 16.3% during the forecast period. Numerous enterprises in the North American region utilize a variety of applications for a variety of purposes, including labor, education, leisure, and retail. Financially-motivated attacks against the web application infrastructure of North American organizations are highly detrimental. According to Verizon's 2020 data breach investigations report, North America accounted for 69% of all events and 55% of all data breaches in the company's 2020 dataset. Approximately 20% of attacks also targeted web application infrastructure. In addition, the most prevalent kind of hacking was the exploitation of stolen credentials, which were then used to compromise enterprise web-based email and other web applications. With an increasing number of enterprises using cloud-based solutions, the use of compromised credentials has risen accordingly. Consequently, application security services and software are required.
Europe is the second largest region and is estimated to reach an expected value of USD 9 billion by 2030, registering a CAGR of 16.6%. Europe has also experienced a considerable rise in the number of data breaches. According to the Data Breach 2020 study by the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), Cloud/Web applications are a channel for hostile actors' attempts to breach data or essential activities. The theft of passwords for web-based email portals is a prime example. Other instances of this vector include exploiting application server vulnerabilities to inject/deliver information-stealing malware or other attacks. More than a thousand staff and members of the European Parliament were affected by a significant data breach in May 2020. The data comprised 1,200 elected officials and staff accounts and 15,000 additional accounts of EU affairs experts. The unsecured data contains information on thousands of individuals, including several committee members. These breaches in the region have necessitated the implementation of application security solutions.
Asia-Pacific is the third largest region. Asia-Pacific is one of the world's largest regions in terms of internet penetration. The significant market trends in the APAC region include an increase in security breaches aimed at businesses, the number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the low budget for cybersecurity, and growth in the use of open-source software for security testing, among others. Asia is home to about half of the world's internet users, and more people are turning to the internet as the Covid-19 coronavirus continues to lock down countries such as India. China and India have significant populations that use the internet primarily via mobile devices. This level of internet access increases the likelihood of data breaches and necessitates application security solutions.