By Brad Thomas, Editor, Intelligent Income Daily
Being a hacker used to mean you knew how to code.
Not anymore.
ChatGPT made it possible for anyone to whip up malware just by asking the AI to write a program for them. No coding experience required.
It’s also helping hackers create more convincing phishing emails to trick people into revealing sensitive information and passwords.
A recent report from cybersecurity company Darktrace shows that 9 out of 10 security leaders believe AI-powered threats will be a major challenge for the foreseeable future.
But 6 out of 10 say they’re not ready to face these new threats.
Cyberattacks are a growing menace for all companies. But for those who help solve this issue, there’s a big opportunity… one we can use to our advantage in this new era of artificial intelligence (AI).
Today, I’ll show you why spending on cybersecurity is going to keep increasing in the coming years. And I’ll share one way to profit from this trend while collecting a reliable income.
The Growing Costs of Cybercrime
Cybercrime is one of the fastest-growing expenses companies face today.
When a hacker breaks into a computer system, they can steal company secrets and personal data for millions of customers.
And it’s not just data that’s at risk. A cyberattack can have real-world consequences… And those can carry huge costs and jeopardize the trust companies spend years to build with customers.
Just two months ago, hackers got into Change Healthcare’s computer network. That attack paralyzed insurance payments to doctors and hospitals for weeks. It also prevented pharmacies from filling prescriptions.
The company estimated the consequences of the hack would cost $1.6 billion dollars. Right now, it can only provide 80% of the services it did before. And it might not get back to 100% until next year.
Other companies are facing similar problems. Cybercrime cost American businesses an estimated $320 billion in 2023. That’s a 45% increase over 2022.
And it’s not going to stop there…
Cybercrime is projected to drain over $1.8 trillion out of American pockets by 2028.
And AI could make things worse.
Microsoft recently reported it detected hackers from North Korea, Russia, China, and Iran using AI tools to research targets, improve their software, and create phishing emails. That boosts these hackers’ ability to attack more targets and makes their hacks more difficult to stop.
That means companies will have to spend more on cybersecurity to protect their profits. And that means the businesses that are developing the best solutions in the world of AL-powered cybercrime will come out on top…
At the Forefront of the Fight
One company that’s at the forefront of the fight against cybercrime is Cisco (CSCO).
Cisco is one of the biggest companies providing networking hardware. That means a large part of the internet’s traffic flows through Cisco-produced equipment.
That puts Cisco in a unique position to help stop cyberattacks before they happen.
Cisco has recently been buying several small cybersecurity businesses. It also just made its biggest purchase ever by merging with Splunk – a large cybersecurity firm.
That means the company is evolving from a focus on hardware to a cybersecurity business that combines hardware and software to help companies stay safe.
And Cisco has already used its recent acquisitions to develop a new product called Hypershield.
Hypershield allows security experts to see everything that’s going in and out of the operating system. It also adds security controls to every part of a network so it can quickly respond when something isn’t behaving correctly.
And most importantly, Hypershield uses AI to learn how programs are supposed to behave. Then, it can automatically test and apply fixes to any problems it finds.
According to Cisco, Hypershield’s AI capabilities can reduce the time it takes to identify a problem and implement a solution from days… to just a few minutes.
Hackers are using AI in their attacks. Now, cyber defenders can get help from AI, too.
Despite Cisco’s big announcement, its shares are still cheap. Right now, it trades for just 13x earnings. Historically, Cisco shares have traded at an average of 15x earnings.
And best of all for income-focused investors like us, Cisco is a reliable dividend grower that has increased its payout every year since 2011. It currently yields 3.3%.
So you can get paid to wait while the company tackles the growing cybersecurity market, while using AI’s growing potential to its advantage.
Happy SWAN (sleep well at night) investing,
Brad Thomas
Editor, Intelligent Income Daily