The tense geopolitical environment and accelerated digitization of the economy are unsurprisingly coming with an increasing number of highly damaging cyberattacks and the momentum is unlikely to slowdown any time soon.

The next growth driver is already visible with the emergence of the Internet-of-Things (IoT), powered by 5G networks. IoT will spark a massive rise in the number of new vulnerabilities as billions of new devices are expected to be connected and to boast smart features in the future, including autonomous vehicles, wearable medical devices, voting machines, smart homes…

Against this backdrop, all companies and organizations face massive intrusion threats, suggesting they will have no choice but to roll out Zero Trust security architectures that combine user identification and access management with device authentication and protection and to massively invest in detection tools and automated response solutions.

Rising data compliance requirements in several parts of the world where governments impose to store and process data locally are another major challenge and opportunity for the cybersecurity industry.

From a financial standpoint, profitability of cybersecurity is lagging that of other software segments but a combination of strong revenue growth and M&A should give a boost to margins and earnings growth and support valuations across the board.

Finally, M&A is adding some spice to the investment case. The growth outlook as well as the cybersecurity industry fragmentation are attracting both private equity firms seeking to extract synergies by combining various cybersecurity assets and Tech companies seeking to offer end-to-end security solutions.

INSIGHTS

Digital Security: Ransomware-as-a-Service Putting IT Security Under Continued Pressure

Ransomware attacks have been increasing at an alarming rate over the last couple of years (between +50% and +100% according to various sources) with ransomware becoming the preferred method for many cybercriminals to monetize their fraudulent activity.  With the emergence of the Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) “business model” in the hackers’ community, this type of attack is…

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Product Details

NAV & Performance

UBS

ISIN

CH0473585252

Currency

USD

Type

Active Equity

Issuer / Rating

UBS / S&P A+

Inception Date

08.11.2019

Liquidity

Daily