Belgian cyber sector set to double in size within five years – 4,000 experts needed
Explosive growth
According to the analysis by the Belgian tech federation, turnover rose from €1.58 billion in 2021 to €2.61 billion in 2024: a jump of more than 65%. Value added also increased by more than 50%, to €915 million. The sector, which consists of 732 companies and organizations, also appears to create many jobs at the same time. The number of full-time jobs climbed by 52% in three years to 9,750 in 2024.
The growth rate will remain high in the coming years. For example, an annual growth of 15,9% is expected, which would mean a doubling of turnover between 2025 and 2030.
When asked about the sector to which they provide services, companies mainly indicate that they work for:
- Telecom & IT (28%)
- Banks and insurers (22%)
- The Upper Echelons (11%)
- Manufacturing industry (11%)
- Energy & utilities (9%)
Finally, the cybersecurity sector is also strongly export-oriented. No less than 22.1% of cybersecurity services are provided abroad.
Talent battle remains huge challenge
The downside of this strong growth: the talent shortage remains acute. With a vacancy rate of 12.4% and 4,000 vacancies for cybersecurity experts that just can't seem to be filled, the sector continues to struggle with a structural shortage. To put that in perspective: the cyber vacancy rate is much higher than in the rest of the IT sector (5.3%) or the entire Belgian economy (3.9%).
And this is despite the number of programmes that have increased sharply in recent years in Flanders (20), Wallonia (19) and Brussels (11). More than 40 programmes in regular and non-regular education will be added.
But the several hundred graduates per year are not enough to close the gap. We urgently need to boost the cooperation with colleges, universities and other educational institutions. Cyber knowledge must be embedded in training much earlier and beyond just digital skills.
Saskia Van Uffelen, Manager Future Workforce at Agoria
Companies still too vulnerable
Remarkably, many SMEs still suffer from what the sector calls "cyber poverty". They invest too little in security and therefore remain vulnerable. However, investing in cyber security is not an unnecessary luxury, as the number of attacks increased by 165% in 2025, to an average of 275 per day (Checkpoint, 2025). In 2024, as many as one in four Belgian companies will be affected, according to an analysis by Proximus.
In the meantime, the sector has been very active. For example, Agoria and its cyber business group (Cyber Made in Belgium) developed free initiatives to support SMEs, such as cyberstart.be (in Dutch and French only) in collaboration with VLAIO and walhub, Cyberboost (14 hours of online cyber training, in Dutch and French only) and recently the ‘Cyber Risk Scan’ that helps companies discover where their vulnerabilities lie.
Cybersecurity policy at all levels
Agoria is asking for support from all policymakers: targeted support measures for SMEs, more public-private partnerships and extra investments in cyber training. Schools must also pay more attention to cyber security and much earlier.
It is good that there are more training courses, which are also of much better quality than, for example, 5 years ago, but it is still not enough. We have recently witnessed the impact of a major cyberattack at our national airport, where criminals stole passenger data and held a company to ransom. The cyber threat has not diminished in recent years and will continue to increase. Companies, large and small, but also citizens must have a much greater reflex to make cybersecurity a priority. It starts with good 'cyber hygiene', but the ambition should actually be much higher.
Eric Van Cangh, Cyber Made in Belgium leader at Agoria
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