Worldwide spending on information security is expected to increase by 7.9% to $71.1bn in 2014 when compared to 2013 as the companies becoming security aware, a report from Gartner found.

The report also estimated that the spending on information security will to reach $76.9bn in 2015.

According to Gartner research director Lawrence Pingree, 2013 marked the beginning of advanced security threat, triggered by easy availability of malware and infrastructure that were used to execute advanced attacks on companies.

Pingree added: "This has led to increased awareness among organizations that would have traditionally treated security as an IT function and a cost center."

According to the Gartner, more than 30% of security controls used by small or midsize business will be cloud based by the end of 2015.

The company also estimates that by 2015, around 30% of the protection products will be become a part of a suite, and it will include new security control for better protection.

The forecast claims that companies will use security service firms specialising in security risk management and data protection to fulfill their security needs 2018.

As for consumers, Gartner forecasts no big shift in mobile security during 2016, but predicts that 2017 onwards users will give priority to mobile security.

Pingree added: "This Nexus of Forces is impacting security in terms of new vulnerabilities."

"It is also creating new opportunities to improve effectiveness, particularly as a result of better understanding security threats by using contextual information and other security intelligence."