Latest news with #databreach
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
This Stock Doubled My Money – and I'm Buying More
Cybersecurity isn't just growing - it's exploding. Global cybersecurity spending is projected to soar from $265 billion today to nearly $400 billion by 2028 according to IDC Worldwide. And this is one area of IT spending that cannot be cut. Morgan Stanley research found ransomware attacks hit 72% of large firms last year, and the average data breach now costs nearly $5 million. For investors though, cybersecurity isn't a threat but a multi-decade opportunity. I've already booked a 109% return on my favorite and am still buying more. This is why cybersecurity is my #1 growth theme. It's not just about the upside—these companies keep growing in any market. Cybersecurity is one of the few areas where companies never cut spending, even during recessions. The threat is too great, and the cost of failure too high. But not all cybersecurity stocks are created equal. To separate the great from the just-OK, you have to dig deeper into segment growth and which companies dominate the different areas of the industry. That's because while overall cybersecurity demand is forecast to grow at a 12% annualized rate, the average hides a giant gap at the segment level. Cloud Security – Protects cloud-based apps and data, forecast to grow 15% to 18% SASE/Service Edge – Combines networking and security for remote work, forecast to grow 13% to 16% Endpoint Protection – Secures devices like laptops and phones, forecast to grow 10% to 14% Identity Access – Controls user authentication and permissions, forecast to grow 9% to 12% SIEM – Analyzes and detects threats across systems, forecast to grow 8% to 11% Firewalls/Hardware – Legacy security still used in hybrid environments, forecast to grow 3% to 5% The saying goes, 'A rising tide lifts all boats,' and that's true of the cybersecurity theme, lifting all the stocks in the group but knowing the difference in segment growth, combined with research into which companies compete and which dominate the various segments can help you pick stocks that produce outsized returns…and here are my top five. Palo Alto Networks (PANW) is the most complete platform in cybersecurity, with offerings in nearly every segment—cloud security, endpoint, SASE, SIEM, and traditional firewalls. Its approach consolidates tools into full-suite solutions like Prisma and Cortex, making it the default provider for enterprise customers. Its next-gen security business is growing over 30% annually, while its AI-powered Cortex XSIAM platform is growing over 200%. Palo Alto posted revenue of $8.8 billion and $984 million in operating income last year, for an 11% operating margin, the second highest among peers. Like every stock in this runaway theme, shares trade expensively at 70X-plus on a price-to-earnings basis but adjusting for a 20% growth rate in earnings makes this a great all-around play. Fortinet (FTNT) dominates in network security and firewalls, with over 600,000 devices installed worldwide. Many of those devices are nearing the end of their lifecycle, setting up a $400–450 million refresh cycle. While its firewall-heavy product base means slower revenue growth, Fortinet boasts a jaw-dropping 31% operating margin - turning nearly one-third of revenue into profit. That profitability gives Fortinet cash to expand into higher-growth segments like SASE and SD-WAN, where over 70% of its customers are already partially onboard. It's also one of the more affordable names in the space, making it a solid value play in an expensive sector. Okta Inc (OKTA) is one of only two pure-play leaders in Identity and Access Management, helping companies manage who can access what across networks, cloud platforms, and apps. What makes Okta stand out is its vendor-agnostic platform; integrating across Microsoft, Google, and Amazon seamlessly. That flexibility is crucial in today's hybrid, multi-cloud world. Growth is slower here, analysts expect under 10% annually, but Okta's lack of major competition in its niche gives it a long runway. The real play is in a potential acquisition. Its focused dominance makes it a prime target for a larger cybersecurity firm looking to complete a portfolio. Zscaler (ZS) is one of the fastest-growing companies in cybersecurity, with shares up over 74% this year alone. It pioneered the zero-trust, cloud-first security model, abandoning the legacy hardware approach and changing the industry. Zscaler's Zero Trust Exchange now inspects over half a trillion transactions per day, giving it unmatched visibility and threat detection capabilities. It dominates in SASE (Secure Access Service Edge), with a 21% global market share and a whopping 34% in the Security Service Edge subsegment. The company's $2.9 billion cloud ARR is growing over 22% annually, and analysts expect the SASE market to hit $30 billion by 2030. While it's one of the more expensive stocks in the group, Zscaler's leadership in fast-growing segments makes it a compelling pick. I love talking stocks and that face-to-face community we're building on the YouTube channel. Join the Bow Tie Nation and check out all the 2025 stock picks on Let's Talk Money! CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD) may become the most valuable cybersecurity company of them all. It's already a leader in endpoint security and SIEM, but its real edge is in AI-driven cybersecurity. The company's agentic assistant, Charlotte AI, works like a teammate; investigating threats, automating responses, and making decisions in natural language. This gives CrowdStrike a massive lead in next-gen AI integration, far beyond competitors trying to bolt AI onto legacy tools. Its Falcon platform is the most adopted XDR solution, with over 60% of customers using five or more modules. CrowdStrike processes over a trillion security events per day, constantly training Charlotte and expanding its threat intelligence graph. This AI-first architecture gives it a structural advantage that's nearly impossible to replicate. At a 120-times price-to-earnings ratio, the stock is no longer cheap after its 109% run since I started buying last year, but you can't fight this kind of growth. Disclosure: This Stock Doubled My Money – and I'm Buying More is written by Joseph Hogue, CFA who is a former equity analyst and economist. Born and raised in Iowa, after serving in the Marine Corps, Joseph worked in corporate finance and real estate before starting a career in investment analysis. He has appeared on Bloomberg and CNBC and led a team of equity analysts for a venture capital research firm. He holds a master's degree in business and the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. Positions in stocks mentioned: CRWD, PANW, ZS Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CBS News
a day ago
- CBS News
Tea dating app breach bigger than previously thought, company says
A previously disclosed hack affecting Tea, a women-only dating advice app, was more extensive than previously thought, the company said Monday. Tea's investigation of the incident found that app users' direct messages had been breached, along with some of their photos. "Out of an abundance of caution, we have taken the affected system offline," Tea said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch. The app, which has become one of Apple's most downloaded free apps, was compromised in a cyberattack that exposed members' personal information, including selfies, Tea said Friday. The hackers accessed a data storage system containing information that members had uploaded prior to February 2024, the company said. An additional 59,000 images and direct messages were also accessed without authorization, according to Tea. Tea lets women share information about their dates and run background checks on potential matches, among other things. Ted Miracco, CEO at mobile security maker Approov, urged users to exhibit caution in sharing personal information on widely downloaded apps.. "A lot of people presume that if an app is available through Apple or Google, that it's safe. That's the first mistake consumers make," he told CBS MoneyWatch. Miracco also said Tea lacked adequate security protections. "This is basic cybersecurity and something the company should be held accountable for," he said. "They rushed to market and promised consumers to create a safe site, and instead they exposed them."
The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
What was leaked in the dating app data breach
Controversial dating app Tea, which allows women to anonymously share information about men, has confirmed a significant data breach. Thousands of images, including selfies and photo identification, were leaked online after the app, which recently topped the U.S. Apple App Store, was hacked. San Francisco-based Tea Dating Advice Inc. has engaged third-party cybersecurity experts to secure its systems following the incident. The app was founded to help women vet men for safety, but has been criticised as a 'man-shaming site' promoting 'vigilante justice'. Approximately 72,000 images were leaked, affecting users who signed up before February 2024, though the company states no email addresses or phone numbers were exposed and all data is now secure. Thousands of images leaked online after controversial dating app hacked
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
This Stock Doubled My Money – and I'm Buying More
Cybersecurity isn't just growing - it's exploding. Global cybersecurity spending is projected to soar from $265 billion today to nearly $400 billion by 2028 according to IDC Worldwide. And this is one area of IT spending that cannot be cut. Morgan Stanley research found ransomware attacks hit 72% of large firms last year, and the average data breach now costs nearly $5 million. For investors though, cybersecurity isn't a threat but a multi-decade opportunity. I've already booked a 109% return on my favorite and am still buying more. This is why cybersecurity is my #1 growth theme. It's not just about the upside—these companies keep growing in any market. Cybersecurity is one of the few areas where companies never cut spending, even during recessions. The threat is too great, and the cost of failure too high. But not all cybersecurity stocks are created equal. To separate the great from the just-OK, you have to dig deeper into segment growth and which companies dominate the different areas of the industry. That's because while overall cybersecurity demand is forecast to grow at a 12% annualized rate, the average hides a giant gap at the segment level. Cloud Security – Protects cloud-based apps and data, forecast to grow 15% to 18% SASE/Service Edge – Combines networking and security for remote work, forecast to grow 13% to 16% Endpoint Protection – Secures devices like laptops and phones, forecast to grow 10% to 14% Identity Access – Controls user authentication and permissions, forecast to grow 9% to 12% SIEM – Analyzes and detects threats across systems, forecast to grow 8% to 11% Firewalls/Hardware – Legacy security still used in hybrid environments, forecast to grow 3% to 5% The saying goes, 'A rising tide lifts all boats,' and that's true of the cybersecurity theme, lifting all the stocks in the group but knowing the difference in segment growth, combined with research into which companies compete and which dominate the various segments can help you pick stocks that produce outsized returns…and here are my top five. Palo Alto Networks (PANW) is the most complete platform in cybersecurity, with offerings in nearly every segment—cloud security, endpoint, SASE, SIEM, and traditional firewalls. Its approach consolidates tools into full-suite solutions like Prisma and Cortex, making it the default provider for enterprise customers. Its next-gen security business is growing over 30% annually, while its AI-powered Cortex XSIAM platform is growing over 200%. Palo Alto posted revenue of $8.8 billion and $984 million in operating income last year, for an 11% operating margin, the second highest among peers. Like every stock in this runaway theme, shares trade expensively at 70X-plus on a price-to-earnings basis but adjusting for a 20% growth rate in earnings makes this a great all-around play. Fortinet (FTNT) dominates in network security and firewalls, with over 600,000 devices installed worldwide. Many of those devices are nearing the end of their lifecycle, setting up a $400–450 million refresh cycle. While its firewall-heavy product base means slower revenue growth, Fortinet boasts a jaw-dropping 31% operating margin - turning nearly one-third of revenue into profit. That profitability gives Fortinet cash to expand into higher-growth segments like SASE and SD-WAN, where over 70% of its customers are already partially onboard. It's also one of the more affordable names in the space, making it a solid value play in an expensive sector. Okta Inc (OKTA) is one of only two pure-play leaders in Identity and Access Management, helping companies manage who can access what across networks, cloud platforms, and apps. What makes Okta stand out is its vendor-agnostic platform; integrating across Microsoft, Google, and Amazon seamlessly. That flexibility is crucial in today's hybrid, multi-cloud world. Growth is slower here, analysts expect under 10% annually, but Okta's lack of major competition in its niche gives it a long runway. The real play is in a potential acquisition. Its focused dominance makes it a prime target for a larger cybersecurity firm looking to complete a portfolio. Zscaler (ZS) is one of the fastest-growing companies in cybersecurity, with shares up over 74% this year alone. It pioneered the zero-trust, cloud-first security model, abandoning the legacy hardware approach and changing the industry. Zscaler's Zero Trust Exchange now inspects over half a trillion transactions per day, giving it unmatched visibility and threat detection capabilities. It dominates in SASE (Secure Access Service Edge), with a 21% global market share and a whopping 34% in the Security Service Edge subsegment. The company's $2.9 billion cloud ARR is growing over 22% annually, and analysts expect the SASE market to hit $30 billion by 2030. While it's one of the more expensive stocks in the group, Zscaler's leadership in fast-growing segments makes it a compelling pick. I love talking stocks and that face-to-face community we're building on the YouTube channel. Join the Bow Tie Nation and check out all the 2025 stock picks on Let's Talk Money! CrowdStrike Holdings (CRWD) may become the most valuable cybersecurity company of them all. It's already a leader in endpoint security and SIEM, but its real edge is in AI-driven cybersecurity. The company's agentic assistant, Charlotte AI, works like a teammate; investigating threats, automating responses, and making decisions in natural language. This gives CrowdStrike a massive lead in next-gen AI integration, far beyond competitors trying to bolt AI onto legacy tools. Its Falcon platform is the most adopted XDR solution, with over 60% of customers using five or more modules. CrowdStrike processes over a trillion security events per day, constantly training Charlotte and expanding its threat intelligence graph. This AI-first architecture gives it a structural advantage that's nearly impossible to replicate. At a 120-times price-to-earnings ratio, the stock is no longer cheap after its 109% run since I started buying last year, but you can't fight this kind of growth. Disclosure: This Stock Doubled My Money – and I'm Buying More is written by Joseph Hogue, CFA who is a former equity analyst and economist. Born and raised in Iowa, after serving in the Marine Corps, Joseph worked in corporate finance and real estate before starting a career in investment analysis. He has appeared on Bloomberg and CNBC and led a team of equity analysts for a venture capital research firm. He holds a master's degree in business and the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation. Positions in stocks mentioned: CRWD, PANW, ZS Sign in to access your portfolio
Forbes
2 days ago
- Forbes
141 Million-File Data Breach Reveals Bank Statements And Crypto Keys
141 million breached files reveal data exposed. It is a sad reflection of the times, as far as data breaches and leaks are concerned, that news of an analysis of 141 million files from 1,257 breaches, including ransomware attacks, hardly registers as being a large number. At least not in the context of aggregated criminal databases containing 16 billion login credentials, or even the recent news of 184 million plaintext passwords found online. The truth is that with the availability and ease of use of infostealers-as-a-servce, which cost hackers as little as $30 a month to rent, you can only expect these numbers to grow. The importance of the 141 million files, however, lies not in the overall number but in the data that is contained within. What is being claimed as the 'biggest ever content-level analysis of breached datasets' has revealed just how concerned everyone should be. The Biggest Content-Level Data Breach Analysis In its Anatomy of a Data Breach report, Lab 1 has compiled the results of what it said was the biggest content-level analysis of data breach files ever. The analysis, based on 141,168,340 records included in a total of 1,297 ransomware and data breach incidents, reconstructed from 'forensic acquisitions of compromised systems,' according to Lab 1, is worthy of note as it didn't just look at dumps of structured data, which ordinarily focus on credentials above all else. Instead, Robin Brattel, Lab 1 CEO, said, the analysis 'focused on the huge risks associated with unstructured files that often hold high-value information, such as cryptographic keys, customer account data, or sensitive commercial contracts.' And, oh boy, did it reveal those huge risks, and then some. 'With cybercriminals now behaving like data scientists to unearth these valuable insights to fuel cyberattacks and fraud, unstructured data cannot be ignored,' Brattel warned. Organizations simply must understand the kind of information that has been leaked in any data breach, and beyond that, how it can be used in ongoing attacks and exactly who could be impacted.
