Yahoo Finance 3 Cybersecurity Bets to Ride Coronavirus-Led Work-From-Home Wave
The pandemic coronavirus that claimed 14,765 lives is wreaking havoc on global trade, investments, tourism, supply chains and consumer confidence. Total number of infections is now more than 341,722, per the Johns Hopkins University data.
A number of global enterprises and government agencies now directed their work force to work remotely to limit the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). With the growing number of employees working from home, the usage of cloud storage, collaboration apps, video conferencing and virtual meetings software also increased exponentially.
For instance, Microsoft MSFT added 12 million daily active users to its Teams workplace collaboration platform during March 12-19 week to hit 44 million daily active users. Usage of Cisco’s Webex videoconference service as well as Zoom’s videoconferencing software also increased significantly in recent times.
Rising Teleworkers Worsening Security Risks
On the flip side, the rising number of work-from-home employees is aggravating security lapses, inducing risks of hacking and phishing scams using coronavirus as content of the subject. Moreover, usage of own devices and equipment that are not properly configured or can be infected with malware during teleworking further raises possible security breaches for enterprises.
Notably, the World Health Organisation (WHO) already warned of fraudulent e-mails that aim at extorting money or sensitive information. European Union Agency for Cybersecurity’s Executive Director Juhan Lepassaar recently cautioned against phishing emails and scams referencing the coronavirus. The agency also enlisted some Dos and Don’ts for employers and employees related to remote working.
Per a ZDNet report, which cited research findings of DustyFresh, cybercriminals created more than 3,600 new domains between March 14 and March 18 that contain the “coronavirus” term.
Moreover, Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (DHS CISA) also suggested a few steps for enterprises to patch and up-to-date their virtual private network (VPN) services as and when the number of teleworkers increases.
Enterprises use VPN solution to connect employees to their IT network. These spark security dangers as employees are prone to phishing attacks that can steal their VPN credentials.
Cybersecurity Stocks to Gain
Here we pick three cybersecurity stocks that are benefiting from an increasing number of teleworkers amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Moreover, higher federal cybersecurity spending as proposed by President Donald Trump, growing adoption of Zero Trust Approach and surging demand for IoT and Industrial security solutions are major drivers.
Further, these stocks have a favorable combination of a Growth Score of A or B and a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Per the Zacks’ proprietary methodology, stocks with such a perfect mix of elements offer solid investment opportunities.
Our Picks
FireEye FEYE is currently focusing on cloud-based protection services. The company recently unveiled FireEye Messaging Security, which protects collaboration tools like Microsoft Teams and Slack. This solution is designed to reduce the risk of a cyber-infiltrations by scanning objects and links shared in the collaboration tool to identify zero-day malware and phishing links in real time.
Moreover, the company added User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) tool to Helix platform. The tool uses machine learning to set a baseline behavior and monitors any deviation from it. This helps the stock identify risky entities and protect organizations from security threats.
FireEye, Inc. Price and Consensus
FireEye, Inc. price-consensus-chart | FireEye, Inc. Quote
Fortinet FTNT is benefiting from its portfolio strength. The FortiMail platform can be used to block specific file types containing certain keywords, such as those related to the coronavirus. FortiMail is also capable of sending attachments to the FortiSandbox solution to check whether the file displays any malicious behavior.
Moreover, the company’s latest FortiOS 6.4 introduced automation, scalability, performance and AI capabilities to its Security Fabric Platform. This enables the stock to provide Zero-Trust Network Access that identifies and secures users and devices, on and off network.
Further, the new operating system allows to expand Office 365 security coverage through integrations with FortiMail and FortiCASB.
Fortinet, Inc. Price and Consensus
Fortinet, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Fortinet, Inc. Quote
Qualys QLYS solutions are provided through its QualysGuard Cloud Platform, which offers enterprises instant visibility of their IT assets and global security practices. The company’s cloud-based security and compliance stack help organizations secure and protect their IT infrastructures and applications, a must-needed practice in the hour of employees working from any devices anywhere.
Qualys is a dominant name in the vulnerability management space. The company also partnered with Google Cloud and its portfolio of integrated Cloud-based security and compliance solutions are available via the Google Cloud Marketplace.
Qualys, Inc. Price and Consensus
Qualys, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Qualys, Inc. Quote
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