Rethinking the Security Estate: Why IT Spend Isn’t the Same as Cybersecurity Readiness

Cybersecurity spend is projected to reach $183 billion by 2028, but that growth masks a dangerous misconception. Many midmarket organizations equate rising IT budgets with improved security, assuming that broad spending on technology automatically translates to better protection.

However, this is creating a widening gap between what companies perceive and their actual security readiness. IT spend is not a proxy for cybersecurity, and 2026 is the time for midmarket companies to rethink how they evaluate their security estate.

The False Confidence of IT Spend

There is a widespread lack of understanding of how security controls reduce risk in practice. Midmarket organizations, already constrained by limited budgets and manpower, often seek plug-and-play solutions for problems they don’t fully understand. As a result, rising IT spend inflates confidence without materially improving cybersecurity or resilience.

These investments, while well-intentioned, often fall short in terms of configuration, oversight, and operational rigor, thereby undermining ...