Cyber security firms to benefit in wake of Colonial ransomware attack

Telos

12/05/2021 16:31

** Following a ransomware attack on top U.S. fuel pipeline
operator Colonial Pipeline, Wedbush notes that the cyber
security industry lacks core next-generation security
infrastructure for utilities
    ** With the number of cyber attacks rapidly increasing,
Wedbush says this is another broader sector growth catalyst for
the industry over the next 12 to 18 months
    ** Cyberattack exposed lack of required defenses on U.S.
fuel pipelines, while pipeline operators only have voluntary
measures in place  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2MZ1EW
    ** The Biden administration is focused on this troubling
trend and should catalyze more spending on the federal front,
which benefits players such as Telos Corp  TLS.O  and analytics
provider Palantir Technologies Inc  PLTR.N  - Wedbush
    ** Brokerage notes other cyber security vendors well
positioned to benefit include Fortinet Inc  FTNT.O , Sailpoint
 SAIL.N , Crowdstrike  CRWD.O , Tenable  TENB.O , Varonis
 VRNS.O , Zscaler  ZS.O  and Palo Alto  PANW.N 
    ** Shares of FireEye Inc  FEYE.O  and other cyber security
firms, which had risen after the ransomware attack on Colonial
Pipeline, were down between 1% and 5% on Wednesday
    ** Tech stocks have come under pressure recently on worries
about rising U.S. interest rate hikes hurting their valuations
    ** Raymond James also highlights energy and water solutions
provider Itron Inc's  ITRI.O  cybersecurity solutions for
utilities
    ** Itron's suite of software solutions cater to the
utilities sector and include cybersecurity, both in-house and
via an industry partnership - Brokerage

 (Reporting by Subrat Patnaik and Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru)
 ((subrat.patnaik@tr.com; Twitter: @Subrat_Patnaik))