Cybersecurity has become a matter of great importance over the past few months, as most of the employees across the country have taken to working from home amid the pandemic.
In fact, as the number of coronavirus infections keeps surging in the United States, companies have prompted their staff to continue working remotely and are now faced with the challenging task of adapting their security measures to meet the need of the hour.
Therefore, now would be the ideal time to invest in companies that are increasingly dealing with cyber attacks and offer products and services to strengthen cybersecurity.
Cyber Security Market Promises Growth Ahead
According to Cybersecurity Ventures, global spending on cybersecurity products and services are expected to surpass $1 trillion cumulatively from 2017 to 2021.
Per Gartner, global expenditure on information security (which is a subset of the broader cybersecurity market) products and services were more than $114 billion in 2018, up 12.4% from 2017. Gartner forecasts the cybersecurity market to rise to $170.4 billion in 2022.
Factors Boosting Need for Global Cyber Security
Unlike other areas of technology, which derive their growth from reducing inefficiencies and raising productivity, cybersecurity is driven by cybercrime. One may consider the current work scenario as a demanding one in terms of cybersecurity as people are having to deal with large volumes of sensitive and proprietary data online.
After all, as more employees work from home amid the pandemic and many companies advise their staff to continue to do so until next year, cybersecurity is an issue that needs to be addressed urgently. In fact, companies such as Twitter, Inc. TWTR have advised their staff to work from home permanently if they want to. Developments such as this on the workspace front have brought to attention the intricacies of security online, as sensitive data gains more exposure.
In addition, the usage of multiple devices such as mobile phones, laptops and tablets have also brought the issue of cybersecurity to the forefront. Increasing access to the Internet and unauthorized access to critical data are also major factors behind cyber attacks.
In fact, more exposure to the Internet without following security measures such as privacy screens, background-checking on new employees and introduced measures to monitor new hires during the pandemic along with accessing an unsecured network are also pushing the need for a more secure system to shield one’s data from cybercrimes.
3 Stocks to Buy
We have, therefore, chosen three cybersecurity stocks from the Zacks Security industry. All these stocks carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Fortinet, Inc. FTNT is a provider of broad, integrated and automated cybersecurity solutions. Fortinet has an expected earnings growth rate of 13.8% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s current-year earnings has moved 1.4% north in the past 60 days.
Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. CHKP is a developer of a range of products and services for IT security. Check Point Software Technologies has an expected earnings growth rate of 5.7% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s current-year earnings has moved 2% north in the past 60 days.
Zix Corporation ZIXI is a provider of services such as email encryption, data loss prevention, threat protection and archiving for the secure exchange of email. Zix has an expected earnings growth rate of more than 100% for the current year. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the company’s current-year earnings has moved 1.8% north in the past 60 days.
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