SECURITY TO PROTECT IT ALL Of course, as our lives increasingly go online, so does our information... If you want to grocery shop from afar, go to
virtual school or work, watch the newest movie, or pay for anything online, you have to fork over your personal data. And invariably, those company networks are hacked.
With more of this information available, the hackers have to be drooling. It may as well be Christmas in their world. A friend who works for a cybersecurity firm has told me the scams and attempted intrusions are already off the charts. He said because so many people are working from home for the first time, they’re even more susceptible to attacks because they don’t have business firewalls in place. It’s so bad that criminals are using a fake coronavirus outbreak map that mimics Johns Hopkins University updates to install malware on personal computers. And these same hackers will see government relief efforts as bonanzas for theft schemes. They’ll steal personal information from unwitting victims. All of this should be to the benefit of cybersecurity companies. Names like Palo Alto (PANW), Cisco, F5 Networks (FFIV), and Proofpoint (PFPT), among others should see an increase in business demand. That should also boost exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) like the First Trust CyberSecurity Fund (CIBR) and ETFMG CyberSecurity Fund (HACK).
‘NORMAL’ WON’T CHANGE THESE TRENDS At some point, this situation will pass. Science will discover a remedy for the outbreak. It’s likely this becomes a seasonal ailment like the flu. It will require a new shot for us to take on an annual basis. But it has and will change our lives forever. Common actions like the handshake may no longer be viewed as necessary. Working from home and virtual school will likely see a greater uptake. Our lives will be more technology dedicated. And the trends we’re seeing right now are a vision of what’s to come. Disruption is changing the game right before our eyes. The explosion of data has gone from an unstructured to a structured environment quickly. These trends will allow fewer companies to establish a dominant industry position. The question is... are you prepared?
American Consequences
47
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker