Cybercrime has been around for as long as the internet itself. The first known “ransomware” attack happened in 1989 when victims unintentionally installed malware hidden on floppy disks (remember those?).

People saw a message on their screens saying their software lease had expired, and they would need to mail a $189 cashier’s check or money order to an address in Panama to regain control of their system.

I’ve shared this story before, but anyone paying attention to the headlines understands how much more sophisticated things are today.

In 2017, the WannaCry cyberattack was estimated to have infected over 250,000 computers across 150 countries, inflicting between $4 billion and $8 billion in damages.

You may remember in May 2021, when the Colonial oil pipeline system was hacked before the company paid $4.4 million to regain control of the pipeline. And who knows what’s being done behind the scenes in the Russia/Ukraine conflict right now. Or any number of other hotspots around the world, for that matter…

The point is even corporations and governments can fall victim to cybercrime. And the problem is getting worse each year.

A Growing Problem (And Opportunity)

According to a recent report published by the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), the agency also fielded a staggering 847,376 complaints in 2021. The agency reports that Americans were scammed out of $6.9 billion last year — a 64% increase over 2020.

_{Source: FBI Internet Crime Report 2021}

Cyber theft is the fastest-growing crime in the United States. According to Grand View Research, the global cybersecurity market was valued at about $185 billion in 2021. It’s expected to grow by nearly 12% on a compound annual basis from 2022 to 2030.

The most common frauds: are phishing, non-payment/non-delivery, and extortion. The costliest, however, came from scams relating to compromised emails, romance, and investments.

The chart below shows the staggering growth in just phishing (and related) attacks on Americans.

_{Source: FBI Internet Crime Report 2021}

This is an unfortunate aspect of the world we live in. But as the threats grow, so does the need for technologies and applications to protect the internet and our data. And as cyberattacks continue to grow in frequency and sophistication, everyone, from governments to corporations to individuals, will have to spend more to beef up their defenses against attacks.

Action To Take

For the past few years, I’ve been telling readers that the growing threat of cybercrime will lead to significant opportunities for long-term investors. This is a classic example of a megatrend that will give patient investors multiple opportunities to profit in this space for years to come.

Some names that I’ve discussed in the past include CrowdStrike (Nasdaq: CRWD), Okta, Inc. (Nasdaq: OKTA), and CyberArk Software (Nasdaq: CYBR).

There’s also the exchange-traded fund (ETF) route or those who want instant diversification in this space. Choices include First Trust Nasdaq Cybersecurity ETF (CIBR), Global X Cybersecurity ETF (BUG), or ETFMG Prime Cyber Security ETF (HACK).

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