It seems that every week, there is a news article about some type of hacking or cybersecurity attack on a business. Even the Securities and Exchange Commission has issued stronger guidelines to companies regarding cybersecurity.
Of course, the news about Equifax generated a significant amount of concern for both consumers and businesses.
One area of concern is the Dark Web. This is like a hidden Internet where supposedly anyone can buy heroin, hitmen, hackers, and harlots. The buying and selling of email addresses, Social Security numbers, credit card numbers and other personal information also reportedly takes place.
If you are concerned about the Dark Web, the credit reporting agency Experian is offering a free scan of the Dark Web for your email address. You can access it here:
So what’s an investor to do? There are well over a dozen publicly traded companies that are involved in cybersecurity.
One of the well known ones is Palo Alto Networks (PANW), a California based company founded in 2012. The company provides network and endpoint cybersecurity solutions. The stock trades at 46 times forward earnings.
Trivia: 57% of all publicly traded cybersecurity companies are based in California
Checkpoint (CHKP) is an Israeli based network security company. The stock has a trailing price to earnings ratio of 22 and a forward P/E of 18.
If you can’t decide which cyber security stock to invest in, you might want to consider a cyber security ETF. There are two to choose from, the ETFMG Prime Cyber Security ETF (HACK) and the First Trust NASDAQ Cybersecurity ETF (CIBR).
For a list of over fifteen cybersecurity stocks, click HERE to access the stock list page.
Disclosure: Author didn’t own any of the above at the time the article was written.