First, You Must Protect Your Computer…

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A new computer virus was just released that can take over a PC with a single email.

It gets worse. You don’t even have to open the email for the hackers to get into your system. Your PC’s malware scanner will activate the virus when it automatically inspects it.

To be fair, Microsoft has already released a patch to fix the issue.

But there will be another nasty virus to take its place soon enough…

Cyber criminals are everywhere. And they’re becoming more savvy by the day. Individuals and corporations are scrambling to protect their most sensitive information. But they’re way behind the curve.

Just check out these three terrifying cyber security facts:

1. Cybercrime will cost the world $6 trillion annually by 2021

This stat is courtesy of a Cybersecurity Ventures report predicting a “Hackerpocalypse” that will disrupt our high-tech world over the next several years.

2. We will need to secure 200 billion “Internet of Things” devices over the next three years.

“Intel claims that the number of connected devices could surge to 200 billion by 2020, up from 15 billion in 2015,” CSO notes. That’s a lot of smart items in your home—refrigerators, wearables, and voice-activated devices— that will be vulnerable to hackers.

3. “Cybercrime is the greatest threat to every company in the world.” — IBM CEO Ginni Rometty.

Even the leaders of the world’s biggest tech firms know we aren’t doing enough to combat the countless hacking threats across the globe. CSO notes that there is a severe shortage of workers in the industry that will need to fill 1.5 million positions by 2019.

Here’s the deal: Hackers are starting to catch up to major corporations that haven’t done enough to protect sensitive customer data.

Just think of all the high-profile cases we’ve seen recently…

Morgan Stanley coughed up a $1 million fine to the SEC last year because the company did not have enough security in place to prevent a former advisor to steal client data…

Three hackers were charged with stealing the data of more than 100 million customers from JP Morgan and other financial institutions. Because of the sheer amount of data these hackers swiped, officials called the attack “securities fraud on cyber steroids”.

It’s clear that large-scale identity theft is becoming all too common in the corporate world. Governments and private companies are now forced to play catch-up to protect people against the threat.

That’s why cybersecurity will become one of the most lucrative plays of the decade. Hundreds of millions of people are getting their personal data swiped. No information is as secure as it seems and most corporations are way behind the curve when it comes to protecting your data. That’s the reality of the digital world in which we now live.

If you’ve been hanging around these parts for a while, you’ve already had quite a few opportunities to make dough on cyber security stocks. But the past year hasn’t been bullish for the industry. In fact, investors have kicked most of my favorite cyber security plays to the curb.

Until now…

The PureFunds ISE Cyber Security ETF (NYSE:HACK) is finally clawing out of its rut. This group of cyber security stocks is starting to perk up after taking some serious lumps in early 2016…

After more than a year of underperformance, HACK is finally getting its legs back. These stocks are up a collective 13% so far this year, compared to a gain of just 7% for the S&P 500.

That’s great news for one of our favorite long-term cyber security plays, Imperva Inc. (NYSE:IMPV).

Imperva’s approach is different than most cybersecurity firms because it looks to protect companies from insider break-ins, which account for 45% of all data breaches (the Morgan Stanley incident we mentioned earlier was an insider problem). Corporations will be lining up for that kind of protection in the coming months and years. It’s a trend that’s just starting to ramp up…

If IMPV can ride its newfound momentum, you could be sitting on substantial gains in a few months as the sector continues its red-hot recovery.

Sincerely,

Greg Guenthner
for The Daily Reckoning

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