Sony Hack - Your Inbox is Next

“You’ve got seven days to send me $500… or say goodbye to your computer files.”

Imagine making a pot of coffee...

Turning on your computer to start the day...

And then seeing a message like that flash on your screen?

On the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, that’s exactly what happened to a woman in Massachusetts.

Her PC had been infected by a new type of software virus called “ransomware.”

And she’s not alone:

Ransomware is responsible for holding thousands of computers hostage.

Traditionally, cyber crime has been aimed at major corporations.

But nowadays, hackers are setting their sights on more vulnerable prey:

You.

Attacks Are Increasing

Cyber crime has become a dangerous and major trend.

In 2014, the security software giant, Symantec, released a special report...

It was entitled, “2013: The Year of the Mega Breach.”

In the report, Symantec stated that 2013 had been the worst year in history for cyber crime...

Compared to 2012, there had been a 91% increase in attacks...

A 62% increase in the number of breaches...

And over half a billion people were victims of identity theft.

The report seemed to imply that cyber crime had reached its peak...

But according to a new study from PricewaterhouseCoopers, cyber attacks in 2014 rose again – this time by 48%.

These attacks haven’t reached their peak at all...

Their frequency and impact are growing.

Attacks Are Getting Bigger

According to the Ponemon Institute, an organization that monitors Internet security and privacy, the financial damages inflicted by cyber attacks are escalating rapidly.

And keep in mind:

Experts estimate that cyber crime already costs corporations ~$1 trillion annually.

In an unprecedented attack just weeks ago, hackers allegedly from North Korean broke into Sony Picture’s email system.

Essentially, Sony was held hostage until it agreed to halt the release of a new film.

But Sony’s a major corporation. They can take care of themselves.

The scary thing is this:

What if these hackers came after you?

Attacks Are Getting Personal

A few days before Thanksgiving, Alina Simone – a contributor to The New York Times – received a panicked phone call from her mother.

Her mother told her about a threatening message she’d found on her computer screen.

A software program called CryptoWare was holding her computer files hostage.

She had seven days to make a $500 payment that would unlock the files – after that, the price would jump to  $1,000.

If no payment were received, the files would be deleted.

The software instructed her to make the payment using bitcoin, the digital currency … that would make the transaction untraceable.

With her daughter’s help, Mrs. Simone paid the hackers the $500.

And as it turns out, she got off cheap:

Ransomware hackers have reportedly demanded prices as high as $800,000.

But even at $500, all those ransoms add up:

In 2013, over the course of just 100 days, ransomware called CryptoLocker was said to have generated $30 million in extortion fees.

What You Can Do

But there are actions to take that can help protect you from this threat.

Experts recommend you do the following:

1.  Install anti-virus software. Already have it? Verify that it’s up to date.

2.  Keep a back-up of your computer files – and do back-ups regularly!

3.  Be careful when downloading anything from the Internet – whether it’s a file from a website, or an email from someone you know.

But there’s a different action you can take that’s far more interesting than installing anti-virus software...

And potentially, it’s far more profitable, too.

How to Play It

We’ve written about the cyber security megatrend before.

And we’ve shown you security start-ups raising money on equity crowdfunding platforms.

But don’t worry if you didn’t get in on those specific deals:

Given the cyber crime megatrend, there should plenty more deals in the future.

And here are 3 other ways to play this trend – and these are available to accredited investors and non-accredited investors, alike:

Happy investing.