Related: What’s up With The Kind of New Cybersecurity ETF
A string of big hacks have been making headline news, such as those disclosed by Yahoo last year that affected a billion and half a billion accounts.
“The motives for hacking can be very different with each incident, but tend to be concentrated on disruption or financial gain,” Kris Monaco, managing partner at Level ETF Venture, the index provider for HACK, said in an emailed note. “Credit card and personal data are the lifeblood of every hacking scheme, so criminals were obviously focusing on a rich target like Equifax. However, the recent reports regarding hackers penetrating US energy companies show that it may not always be about money. As every aspect of our lives continues to become digitized in some way, every device will become a target and every data point will become a prize.”
Monaco was referring to the recent event where hackers gained direct access to U.S. power grid controls and obtained the ability to induce blackouts in America at will, Wired reports.
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