Mass media: large-scale cyber attacks accelerated the growth of capitalization of companies from the information security industry



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    Over the past year, the value of shares of companies specializing in cybersecurity has increased by 31%, reports CNBC. The profitability of the Prime Cyber ​​Security exchange fund, which includes such companies, doubled the results of the companies from the S & P 500 list.

    The cybersecurity market is growing


    The capitalization of companies that are traded in the ETFMG Prime Cyber ​​Security ETF (HACK) fund has grown by 18% over the past half of 2018. HACK includes holdings that provide popular information security solutions: Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, FireEye, Juniper Networks, CyberArk Software, Symantec, and Cisco.

    Since July 2018, Prime Cyber ​​Security ETF securities have risen in price by 31%. Nasdaq Cybersecurity ETF, another index fund with companies of the same profile, grew by 23%. The increase in revenues and the demand for services of cybersecurity experts in 2017 caused an increased investor interest in such companies. The growth of funds accelerated when, in February 2018, industry leaders reported on revenues over the past year.

    The demand for the services of security experts triggered by hacker attacks


    The experts of the American business channel CNBC have attributed this behavior of investors to personal data leaks in 2017. The hacker attack on the Equifax credit bureau, which became known in September 2017, had a decisive impact on the market . Criminals gained access to 143 million bureau clients.



    Graph: CNBC The

    upward trend intensified in the fall of 2017. For example, Palo Alto Networks, a member of HACK in the third quarter, received a 31% increase in profits and a 33% increase in demand for services. Fortinet revenues since the moment of hacking Equifax increased by 66%, CyberArk - by 50%.

    Data protection costs will increase


    The critical importance of cybersecurity was talked about in 2016, when Yahoo discovered over a billion accounts had been hacked. The risk of being a victim of hackers has stimulated the business to increase budgets to protect the personal data of customers. In the middle of 2017, the growth of this market has accelerated: more and more companies are starting to store data in cloud networks and are seeking to secure them.

    Research and consulting company Gartner predicts that in 2018 the cost of cybersecurity will be 7% more than in the past. The estimated damage from cybercrime, according to Gartner, will continue to grow and by 2021 will amount to 6 trillion US dollars. This is twice as much as 3 years ago.

    The demand for cyber security is caused not only by potential threats, but also by tightening regulation in this area. Since May 25, 2018, the European GDPR - General Data Protection Provisions are in force in the European Union. This law obliges all companies, both in the EU and using data from European citizens abroad, to apply special protection measures.

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