While the media continues to focus on Russian election interference — and whether there was “collusion” — it’s missing a bigger and far more important story.
You see, no matter who knew what, or who was colluding with whom, Russia has thrown down the gauntlet:
It’s declared war on the United States.
But this is unlike any war we’ve ever fought before...
Today, I want to discuss what’s happening…
Then I’ll show you what you can do about it.
The New Battlefield
Nearly every day, Russia is engaging in an all-out war against the United States.
To be clear, these battles aren’t being fought by armies on some distant battlefield...
Or by shady government operatives like you’d see in some Hollywood thriller.
Instead, this war is being waged in “the cloud” — in other words, on the Internet.
And it’s attacking everything from our national power infrastructure, to the minds of people like you and me.
This is a new age of warfare: cyber warfare.
Cyber Warfare Tactics
It’s estimated that 556 million people fell victim to an attack in 2014 — that’s 12 people every second!
And according to Microsoft, 71% of companies fall victim to cyber-attacks.
These attacks have an extraordinary cost. In fact, the World Economic Forum estimates that, by 2021, the annual economic cost of cyber-attacks will reach $3 trillion.
Furthermore, these attacks come in all shapes and sizes.
For example, Russia didn’t actually hack into our country’s election computer systems and change vote counts...
Instead, it executed a type of cyber-attack known as “social hacking.”
To encourage people to doubt the credibility of various candidates, it deployed millions of “fake news” stories and headlines throughout Facebook and other social networks.
But it’s also engaging in attacks that have more concrete repercussions.
For example, according to The New York Times, Russia used sophisticated hacking techniques to try and shut down our nation’s power grid.
There’s not much you or I can do to help prevent an attack on a power plant...
But we can take some proactive steps to protect ourselves…
How to Protect Yourself
Here are three steps you can take right now to protect yourself against a cyber-attack:
- Be aware — Now that you know our country’s enemies are trying to influence the content we read each day, pay attention to the sources of your news.
If an unknown website is making outrageous claims (even if they’re claims that you’d like to believe), it’s probably disseminating fake news.
- Anti-virus software — Be sure to have the most up-to-date version of anti-virus software installed on your computer.
- Manage Your Online Passwords — Create passwords that are difficult to guess.
I like to use song lyrics. That’s because lyrics are easy for me to remember, but difficult for a computer to guess.
You should also use what’s called Two-Factor Authentication. With this security method, after you log into a website, you need to input a special code that’s only available to you — and the code changes every minute or two.
For websites that support it, I highly recommend using Google Authenticator for Two-Factor Authentication. You can learn more about it here »
I hope these tips are helpful to you and keep you safe.
But I’d also like to give you one more bit of advice...
It may not prevent a cyber-attack, but it might help you put some money in the bank…
How to Profit From This Trend
Due to increasing threats from Russia (and other enemies like North Korea), we expect there to be increased demand for cyber security software and services.
And this increased demand will likely lead to a run-up in the prices of cyber-security stocks.
But we believe the most money will be made by investing in cyber-security start-ups!
That’s because, when you invest in a start-up, you’re getting in at the ground floor — in other words, you’re getting in when the company’s shares are still cheap.
Then, if the company gets acquired or goes public, you have the chance to cash out for huge gains.
In fact, as we’ve told our readers many times before, investing in early-stage companies has produced some of the most profitable investments in history.
To dip your toes in the water, take a look at this cyber security start-up that’s accepting new investors right now...
It’s called Witfoo, and it helps companies reduce the time and cost it takes to investigate a cyber attack by as much as 90%.
You can learn more about it here »
Also, if you have any additional thoughts, questions or investment ideas for the cyber security sector, please click here and leave us a comment now »
Best Regards,
Founder
Crowdability.com
