Tag: hacking

20 Cybersecurity Stocks to Choose From

Doesn’t it seem like there is a  cybersecurity attack on a company almost every day? Because hacking and cyber attacks are such a big issue, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued stronger guidelines last year to to publicly traded companies regarding cybersecurity. The Equifax issue didn’t help.

Consumers are now worried about the Dark Web, which is a concealed Internet where supposedly anyone can buy any of the four H’s: heroin, hitmen, hackers, and harlots. The big money is in the marketing of email addresses, Social Security numbers, credit card numbers and other personal data.

Fortunately, there are companies that are working hard to prevent attacks on businesses and consumers.  There are 20 publicly traded companies that are involved in cybersecurity.

One of the biggest players in the industry is California based Symantec (SYMC), a cybersecurity provider for consumer and enterprise customers, which was founded in 1982. The stock has a trailing price to earnings ratio of 85 and a forward P/E of 13. It even pays a dividend of 1.3%. It has a market cap of $14.7 billion.

Another large cybersecurity firm is Palo Alto Networks (PANW), a California based company founded in 2012. The company provides network and endpoint cybersecurity solutions. The stock trades at 48 times forward earnings, however, earnings for the past few years have been negative. The market cap is $22.8 billion.

TRIVIA: 50% 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 24 and a forward P/E of 20. It does not pay a dividend.

There are several other smaller security companies to choose from including Tenable Holdings, Inc. (TENB), Okta, Inc. (OKTA), Carbon Black, Inc. (CBLK), and Zscaler, Inc. (ZS)

If you aren’t sure which cyber security stock to buy, maybe you should consider a cyber security ETF.  There are a couple to choose from, the ETFMG Prime Cyber Security ETF (HACK) and the First Trust NASDAQ Cybersecurity ETF (CIBR).

For a list of about 20 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.

Cyber Smart: Five Habits to Protect Your Family, Money, and Identity from Cyber Criminals

It is rare that I ever say this about a non-fiction book, but I couldn’t put this book down. Cyber Smart: Five Habits to Protect Your Family, Money, and Identity from Cyber Criminals by Bart R. McDonough is the most thorough guide on protecting yourself from cyber criminals.

It is a captivating book with numerous true anecdotes about the victims of cyber crime, which are included with every chapter and the most interesting parts of the book.

For example, there is the story of the woman who met a man on an online dating site and “loaned” him $72,000. When she tried to meet the man in person, he never showed up.

Another victim was a woman who received a phone call from her local hospital saying that her baby would have to be taken from her and turned over to child protective services because they detected meth in the baby. The woman said that, first, she didn’t have a baby, and second, she never used drugs in her life. Apparently, someone stole this woman’s medical ID so that the bad woman’s birth of her baby would be covered by the innocent woman’s insurance.

For some of the victims, you wonder how they could fall for a scam but others you feel sorry for, especially the grandparent scam victims.

If you think you know all the email scams, like email phishing, do you know what spear phishing is? How about whaling, clone phishing, SMS phishing, or pretexting?

At the end of every chapter, the author provides advice on how to protect yourself from the particular digital threat, whether you have a Windows or Mac computer, whether you have an Android or an iPhone, whether you use T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint, or AT&T, and so on.

With the ubiquitous hacks, scams, privacy compromises, and identity thefts taking place, everyone should read Cyber Smart. I highly recommend it.

How to Make Money from Hacking

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:

http://experian.com/freescan

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.