3 Security Stocks In The Spotlight With Fresh Cyber Attacks
Zacks Investment Research | May 30, 2018 09:33PM ET
The cyber-security industry has been putting up an impressive show on the bourse, of late, with the slew of cyber attacks, over the past few months, playing the supporting role. Cisco’s (NASDAQ:CSCO) latest report hints at another attack hovering over Ukraine, once again, which might cause a complete blackout in the country.
Per the findings of Talos — a cyber-intelligence unit of Cisco — hackers have infected more than 500,000 routers and storage devices across 54 nations. It is feared that this sophisticated malware, VPNFilter, has infected the devices of Linksys, MikroTik, Netgear (NASDAQ:NTGR) , TP-Link and QNAP.
The sensitivity of this cyber attack can be understood with the fact that the malware codes discovered in the infected devices were similar to the ones used earlier to attack Ukraine. In 2015 and 2016, cybercriminals had wrongfully accessed and paralyzed the country’s power utility networks, causing nationwide blackouts and factory shutdowns. Therefore, Cisco is suspecting another similar blackout, this time too, ahead of Ukraine’s Constitution Day on June 28.
While the jitters sent across the globe by Cisco’s latest report had yet not dissipated, another massive cybercrime report hit headlines on May 28. This Monday, two of the largest Canadian banks reported fraudsters gaining access to the personal and financial information of almost 90K of their customers.
Fresh Boost for Security Stocks
Nevertheless, cyberattacks do not spell bad news for all companies. Particularly, cyber-security stocks have been on a roll since the second half of 2017, thanks to the plaguing attacks which created havoc across the globe last year.
Some of the most notable ones included the two back-to-back ransomware attacks — WannaCry or WannaCrypt in May and Petya in June — followed by the massive data breach at Equifax (NYSE:EFX) in September. In addition to these, the data theft and ransom paid by Uber disclosed in November further fueled the bullish momentum of the stocks in this space.
In 2018, so far, the ETFMG Prime Cyber Security ETF (HACK) has returned 19%, outperforming the Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSE:XLK) and S&P 500’s gains of 9.3% and 0.4%, respectively. The Cyber Security ETF has gained 4.3% in a month’s time.
Computer and Technology Sector 5YR % Return
Zacks Investment Research
Get The News You Want
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.