BIRMINGHAM, Mich.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Author, industry analyst, and founder of IT-Harvest, Richard Stiennon, today announced the release of “Security Yearbook 2020: A History and Directory of the IT Security Industry.” The new book will be available for immediate shipping from Amazon on February 14.

Cybercrime is one of the biggest issues that humanity will face in the coming years. Cyber espionage and cyberwarfare can destabilize governments, undermine elections and exploit vulnerabilities in a nation’s critical infrastructure. Its economic impact is driving drastic changes to how every organization is deploying technology. For more than 20 years, companies have been built and burnt in the quest to provide the best cybersecurity solutions to keep the bad actors at bay. This is the first time their stories have been collected in one place to give a true historical analysis of one of the most important emergent industries in modern times.

The result of over a decade of research, “Security Yearbook 2020: A History and Directory of the IT Security Industry” starts at the early days of RACF, ACF2, Check Point Software, Symantec, and McAfee, coming right up to the present day comprised of over 2,336 vendors worldwide, where hundreds of companies are competing daily to bring the next breakthrough in the security market to life.

Security Yearbook 2020 is not a review of technologies; this is a book filled with rich histories of the vendors and the people behind the companies – the misfits and pioneers – that have together built the $300+ billion cybersecurity industry of today. Their individual stories are recounted in their own voice alongside the author’s market research and analysis, making this a one-of-a-kind read and an indispensable guide to the entire IT security industry.

“My vision for this book began when I realized I had been writing books about the history of cyber-attacks while neglecting the history of the very industry I have been part of for 24 years; those creating the product we rely on every day for defense,” said Richard Stiennon. “This will be my fifth book and can be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in the origins of cybersecurity and what the future holds for the industry.”

Sections are devoted to network, endpoint, data, identity, and compliance sectors. New sectors such as security analytics, threat intelligence, and deception will be of particular interest to practitioners who are looking to understand advanced cyber defense tools and practices.

Security Yearbook 2020 will also be the first published directory of all vendors listed by country and product category. It will be an indispensable desk and online reference for analysts, investors, industry veterans, and students. The book website, www.security-yearbook.com, will be continuously updated with the data on each category.

“Rolling the complex history and great breadth of IT security solutions into a single source fills an important need and will become an invaluable asset for the industry,” said John Weinschenk, general manager, Enterprise Network and Application Security, Spirent Communications. “A history of the innovators and pioneering vendors of the IT security industry is long overdue, and Spirent is proud to play a role in making this happen.”

In addition to Spirent, other sponsors include Skybox Security and Qualys.

Stiennon will be available to meet to share some of the extensive research and copies of the book at the RSA Conference in San Francisco, February 24-28. Spirent Communications, the trusted provider of test, measurement, assurance, and analytics solutions for next-generation devices and networks will be hosting Stiennon in Booth North #5579 on the RSA Expo show floor to sign books February 25 and 26 at 1:00 PM.

Free copies will be distributed at events hosted by SecurityCurrent, CISOCentric, and the Information Security Executive® (ISE®) Forum and Awards Program Series.

About Spirent Communications

Spirent Communications offers innovative test, measurement, analytics and assurance solutions for next-generation devices and networks. Spirent’s security validation solutions and consulting services are used by organizations worldwide to meet compliance requirements, validate content-aware device performance, prioritize infrastructure and security investments, and gain consolidated intelligence required to support risk management policies. For more information visit https://www.spirent.com/solutions/applications-security-testing-consulting.

About Richard Stiennon

Richard Stiennon has presented on the topic of cybersecurity in 31 countries on six continents. He is the author of Secure Cloud Transformation: The CIO’s Journey and Surviving Cyberwar (Government Institutes, 2010) and Washington Post Best Seller, There Will Be Cyberwar. He writes for Forbes and The Analyst Syndicate. Stiennon has been a key influencer in the industry as a former vice president of research at Gartner, Inc. and in executive research, strategy and marketing roles at a variety of public and private cybersecurity technology companies. He has a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and his MA in War in the Modern World from King’s College, London.

About IT-Harvest

IT-Harvest was founded in 2005 by former Gartner VP Research Richard Stiennon. The firm researches all of the IT security industry. Stiennon is the author of four books including the recently published Secure Cloud Transformation: The CIO’s Journey. For more information visit https://www.it-harvest.com/.