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Optiv’s 2024 Threat and Risk Management Report, developed with the Ponemon Institute, found that nearly 60% of respondents said their organizations increased cybersecurity investment allocations in 2024. The finding describes the share reporting an increase—not a 60% rise in the average budget. The same survey found that 61% had experienced a data breach or cybersecurity incident in the preceding two years, while 55% reported four or more incidents during that period.
What Optiv’s 2024 cybersecurity report found
Optiv announced the results on June 25, 2024. The report examines organizational threats, cybersecurity investments and risk-management practices in an evolving threat environment. Its figures are survey responses, not a census of every organization.
| Finding | What it measures | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Nearly 60% | Respondents saying their organizations increased cybersecurity investment allocations in 2024 | Share of respondents; not a 60% increase in average spending |
| 61% | Respondents reporting a data breach or cybersecurity incident | Events occurring in the preceding two years |
| 55% | Respondents reporting four or more incidents | Same preceding two-year period |
How to interpret the “nearly 60% increase” budget finding
The budget result answers a yes-or-no question about direction: nearly six in ten respondents said their organization increased its allocation. It does not state how much those budgets increased, nor does it show that cybersecurity spending across all organizations rose by 60%.
Budget changes can include additional personnel, security tools, managed services, assessments, resilience work or other controls. The released summary does not provide a universal average increase for all respondents, so a precise dollar or percentage change cannot be inferred from the nearly-60% figure.
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Breaches remained common despite increased allocations
Optiv reported that 61% of respondents had experienced at least one data breach or cybersecurity incident in the past two years. Within that same group of survey responses, 55% reported four or more incidents. “Any incident” and “four or more incidents” are different measures; the latter indicates repeated events rather than the total number of incidents across all organizations.
These results do not establish whether higher budgets prevented incidents, reduced their impact or followed an incident. The survey identifies coexisting budget and incident experiences, not a cause-and-effect relationship.
What the report says about larger organizations
A separate subgroup finding concerns organizations with more than 5,000 employees: 63% of those organizations had an average of $26 million allocated to cybersecurity investments in 2024. That average applies to the reported large-organization subgroup and should not be presented as the average budget for all respondents.
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How respondents measured risk-management performance
The report-page summary lists three operational measures used to report on cybersecurity risk-management programs:
- Time to detect: cited by 47% of respondents.
- Time to contain: cited by 43%.
- Time to recover: cited by 41%.
Tracking these measures helps connect spending decisions to operational outcomes. Organizations should define when each clock starts and stops, use the same definitions across incidents, and review trends rather than treating one event as a complete performance assessment.
What the findings mean for security leaders
Separate allocation growth from effectiveness
An increased allocation is an input. Pair it with outcome measures such as detection, containment and recovery times, incident recurrence, control coverage and the business impact of disruptions.
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Plan for repeated incidents
Because more than half of respondents reported four or more incidents over two years, plans should cover recurring compromise, not only a single breach. Priorities may include tested recovery procedures, identity controls, vulnerability remediation, third-party risk reviews and exercises involving business leaders.
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Present the risk measures used by the organization to executives and the board, including definitions, reporting periods, target ranges and known data-quality limitations. This makes it easier to judge whether additional investment addresses a measured weakness.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Limits of the published summary
The available announcement and report-page material do not state the survey’s exact sample size, respondent geography, organization profile or complete methodology. Those details matter when estimating how closely the results apply to a particular sector or region, so readers should consult the full 2024 Threat and Risk Management Report before making population-wide comparisons.
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Related context from Optiv’s 2025 announcement
Optiv’s 2025 announcement said 67% of respondents used risk and threat assessments to inform budget decisions, compared with 53% in 2024. That is a separate report edition and respondent result, not proof of a longitudinal change among the same organizations. It is best used as current context about budgeting methods rather than as a direct before-and-after measurement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Optiv’s report prove cybersecurity budgets rose by 60%?
No. Nearly 60% is the share of respondents who said their organizations increased cybersecurity investment allocations in 2024. The summary does not give a 60% average increase in spending.
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The 61% and 55% incident figures refer to the preceding two years as reported in Optiv’s June 25, 2024 announcement.
Can the $26 million figure be applied to every organization?
No. It is the reported average allocation for a subgroup of organizations with more than 5,000 employees, where 63% were represented in that finding.
The Bottom Line
Optiv’s 2024 survey shows that cybersecurity investment allocations increased for nearly 60% of respondents while breaches and repeated incidents remained widespread. Treat the figures as respondent-reported indicators, separate budget growth from budget effectiveness, and use the full report’s methodology before generalizing beyond its surveyed population.
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