Cybersecurity is white-hot in the channel as the global market is expected to exceed $248 billion by 2023.

That’s according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets, which expects a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 10 percent. The market is valued at nearly $153 billion today.

Among the major technology vendors in the market are IBM, Symantec, Check Point Software Technologies, Cisco, Microsoft, F5 Networks, FireEye, McAfee, Oracle, Palo Alto Networks, Splunk and Trend Micro.

The major forces driving global cybersecurity are strict data-protection directives and rising cyberterrorism, as well as the increasing need for cloud-based cybersecurity among SMEs

The encryption segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR through 2023. Encryption offers consistent protection to sensitive data across all critical points in the entire life cycle, MarketsandMarkets noted. It allows enterprises to hide critical data from unauthorized bad actors.

Among verticals, health care is expected to grow at the fastest rate through 2023 as the medical data and digital medical devices used in this industry vertical are prone to advanced threats. The banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI); and IT and telecom industry verticals also are expected to gain traction during this period.

North America is estimated to hold the largest market share this year due to technological advancements and the early adoption of cybersecurity in the region. However, APAC is expected to grow at the highest CAGR between 2018 and 2023. The primary forces driving this growth are increasing technology adoption, big opportunities across industry verticals, and strict directives for data privacy in APAC countries, especially India and China.