Tara Clarke writes: or months now, we've been harping to our readers about why cybersecurity is one of the absolute best investments you can get involved with right now.
Now the rest of the financial media is catching on.
This weekend, Barron's profiled cybersecurity investing, detailing why it's one of the hottest sub-sectors of 2013.
That means cybersecurity investors are closer to realizing huge gains as more investors pile in to these stocks.
Take a look at these shocking numbers and you'll understand why this industry is exploding with profit potential:
American Businesses Under Fire
Currently, hackers are stealing around $250 billion a year in intellectual property.
Homeland Security reported a 68% increase in cyberattacks at federal agencies, critical infrastructure, and government partners.
According to Internet security firm Symantec, attacks on companies rose 42% in 2012.
Gen. Keith Alexander, Director of the National Security Agency, describes these attacks as "the greatest wealth transfer in history."
According to tech research firm Gartner, corporations are projected to spend $67 billion in information security this year. Security spending will increase by around 39%, to $93 billion, in 2017.
Frank Cilluffo, director of George Washington University's Homeland Security Policy Institute, told FOX Business, "Clearly, people are now paying attention. Cybersecurity is no longer a footnote in the needs of supporting a business end-to-end."
In fact, Gartner approximates that 80% of the world's 2,000 largest companies will report security preparation to their boards over the next year.
Despite spending cuts, the U.S. government is beefing up spending in cybersecurity measures.
David Burg, head of PwC's cybersecurity practice, sums it up well to Barron's: "There is a major evolution, with companies moving beyond a baseline of complying with regulation to those looking at cybersecurity as a competitive advantage."
This rapidly developing industry is making cybersecurity absolutely ripe for the harvest for investors. In the words of Rob Owens, head of Pacific Crest Securities:
"I can't point to anything with a better secular backdrop than security right now, given the rate of technological change and the impact of mobile and applications on security."
This is precisely why we've wanted our readers to take advantage of cybersecurity - it's one of the best investments you can make right now.
And it's not too late for you to take advantage; here's how...
How to Invest In Cybersecurity
Barron's reports that there are three key areas in cybersecurity technology to watch: Protection, Detection, and Response.
But there are a lot of moving parts, so it's hard to know exactly where to invest. Who can come up with key technology in the right areas? Who can keep it up and running after launch, adding critical updates for continued viability?
Tech startups, small pure-play tech firms, large internet security firms, cyber-insurers, consultants and defense contractors are all in the game.
It can seem daunting to choose where to put your money, but we're here to help.
First of all, we agree with Barron's pick on Check Point Software Technologies (NASDAQ:CHKP). This is a veteran Internet security firm that brings years of experience to the table.
We also agree with Barron's on Fortinet Inc. (NASDAQ:FTNT). Fortinet is a smaller pure-play firm and its stock is trading at 34 times 2014 earnings.
Recently, its CCFO Ken Goldman left the company and subsequent quarterly earnings pushed the stock lower.
However, we expect a recovery due to its attractive all-in-one cybersecurity package solution for businesses, so now is the time to buy at a discount.
Also, back in March we recommended four stocks to buy in the exploding cybersecurity market.
One is BASF SE (BASFY). This company is one of the big players in the Active Authentication (AA) defense technology that Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is developing right now.
Another is NQ Mobile Inc. (NYSE:NQ), a mobile security company that has worked its way into mobile games and advertising.
NQ Mobile hit us front and center last year, when our Private Briefing investment service released its list of stocks to buy in 2012.
The stock soared as high as 153% after the recommendation, and we're pretty proud of that!
In fact, Private Briefing has been chock full of cybersecurity investing opportunities, especially in light of the series of alleged Chinese-sponsored cyberattacks on several major U.S. weapons systems earlier this year.
Check it out if you're serious about getting into this sector - which you should be.
Additionally, see "How You Can Help Destroy China's "Internet Army" - And Make 300% In The Process."
