Preemptive cybersecurity technologies are set to replace traditional detection and response (DR) systems as the dominant approach to digital defense in the next decade, according to Gartner Inc., a business and technology insights company.
Gartner said preemptive solutions will account for 50% of IT security spending by 2030, compared to less than 5% in 2024. These systems use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to anticipate and neutralize threats before they occur, rather than relying on response after an attack has started.
Capabilities under this model include predictive threat intelligence, advanced deception, and automated moving target defense.
“Preemptive cybersecurity will soon be the new gold standard for every entity operating on, in, or through the various interconnected layers of the global attack surface grid (GASG),” said Carl Manion, managing vice president at Gartner. “DR-based cybersecurity will no longer be enough to keep assets safe from AI-enabled attackers.”
Manion said organizations must deploy independent countermeasures that act without human input to stop potential attacks before they take place. He warned that ignoring this shift increases the risk for product and innovation leaders.
“By clinging to reactive security strategies as their primary line of defense, they will expose their products, services and customers to a new, rapidly escalating level of danger,” Manion said.
Gartner projects that the number of documented cybersecurity Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) will exceed one million by 2030, a 300% increase from about 277,000 expected in 2025. The growth of the GASG, driven by digital connectivity, is expected to drive this surge.
The firm pointed to the Autonomous Cyber Immune System (ACIS) as the next step in preemptive cybersecurity. ACIS combines proactive and adaptive defense measures designed for complex and interconnected digital environments.
“The relentless expansion and increasing sophistication of the GASG render traditional, reactive cybersecurity measures obsolete. Though early in its development, the proactive and adaptive power of the ACIS is unequivocally the future of digital defense,” Manion said.
Gartner expects the industry to shift away from broad DR security platforms to more specialized preemptive tools. These solutions, often built on agentic AI and domain-specific language models (DSLMs), will focus on addressing niche challenges such as industrial control systems, cloud-native applications, AI and ML pipelines, ransomware against critical infrastructure, and supply chain risks affecting software-as-a-service platforms.