Building out digital infrastructure is one of the agendas in the trillion-dollar infrastructure plan that’s up for debate in the House of Representatives, but said infrastructure also needs to be protected.
“We have entered a new era of cyber threat,” a Harvard Business Review article noted. “If it were measured as a country, cybercrime would be the world’s third-largest economy after the U.S. and China.”
This is where an ETF opportunity like the Global X Cybersecurity ETF (BUG) comes into play. As the federal government looks to build up digital infrastructure, it is realizing that bolstering cybersecurity is imperative.
The BUG fund seeks to provide investment results that generally correspond to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the Indxx Cybersecurity Index. BUG gives investors:
- High growth potential: BUG enables investors to access high growth potential through companies that are positioned to benefit from the rising importance and increased adoption of cybersecurity technology.
- An unconstrained approach: The ETF’s composition transcends classic sector, industry, and geographic classifications by tracking an emerging theme.
- ETF efficiency: In a single trade, BUG delivers access to dozens of companies with high exposure to the cybersecurity theme.
The Need for Cybersecurity Is More Crucial Than Ever
The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a heavier reliance on technology and the internet amid social distancing measures. As such, the need for cybersecurity is now more crucial than ever.
“Cybersecurity companies are playing a critical role in today’s economy and as such deserve a spot in investment portfolios,” an Investopedia article explained.
One threat that investors may not have previously thought of is the vulnerability of companies that are undergoing mergers and acquisitions. More often than not, these companies become targets of cyber crimes.
“Companies that are being bought and sold are often prime targets for cyberattacks,” explained Jim Crowley, CEO of cybersecurity solutions provider Industrial Defender, during an email question-and-answer session. “However, by enacting Operational Technology security measures, organizations can avoid an exciting company milestone becoming an infrastructure and security nightmare.”
“The cybercriminal could use a variety of methods to get into the network,” Crowley added. “A phishing attack via email is a pretty common and effective approach. Once they have found credentials to access systems, they can move around the networks and applications to determine where the most sensitive data is.”
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