The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: EMC, Symantec, Intel, AT&T and FireEye

News provided by

Sep 25, 2013, 09:30 ET

CHICAGO, Sept. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include the EMC Corp. (NYSE:EMC-Free Report), Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq:SYMC-Free Report), Intel Corp. (Nasdaq:INTC-Free Report), AT&T, Inc. (NYSE:T-Free Report) and FireEye, Inc. (Nasdaq:FEYE-Free Report)

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20101027/ZIRLOGO)

Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.

Here are highlights from Tuesday's Analyst Blog:

Cyber Security Red Hot on Wall Street

"If you give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. If you teach a man to spearphish, he'll use your credit card to buy dinner!"

This little tech joke speaks volumes about the impact of cyber threats in today's computer-dependent economy. Quite obviously, the financial industry is the worst affected by the rising menace of cyber crime.

The reality of computer crime, though far removed from Hollywood's depiction, is still a massive security issue. In fact, cyber threats have also perturbed the White House over the past few months, recently compelling the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to step in. The regulatory body has promised to help smaller banks defend themselves from cyber attacks in an effort to protect the health of the overall financial system. The support will be given to smaller financial institutions, primarily those which do not have ample resources or proficiency to counter net-crime. The spate of cyber attacks began last year, hitting several banking majors. What's more alarming is that the well-defended sites of these banking majors have suffered connection problems under the yoke of the recent attacks.

Unknown perpetrators flooded bank websites with massive data streams, making them unavailable to customers and halting operations for hours. The method used is known as distributed denial-of-service (DDoS), which often directs a huge amount of traffic from hacked computers to the targeted websites. The volume of Internet traffic that has been directed at these sites was such that most caused a breakdown of powerful servers.

For example, last year, security firms supervising Internet traffic noticed a surge of "junk" data directed at BofA's site, which became a torrent of about 65 gigabytes of information per second. That is roughly 15–30 times more than what is usually seen in cyber attacks. Therefore, smaller banks that have less sophisticated protective walls than their Wall Street counterparts are soft targets.

Moreover, smaller banks are more susceptible to attacks as these are dependent on a third party for online banking facilities. These third party servers are like new connections, offering access points to all connected networks, thus making smaller financial organizations more vulnerable.

Recent Counteraction

The OCC has appointed a Senior Critical Infrastructure Officer to address cyber issues along with officials of both government and private sector companies.

With increased spending by government and large enterprises, we believe companies such as EMC Corp. (NYSE:EMC-Free Report), Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq:SYMC-Free Report) and McAfee, a subsidiary of Intel Corp. (Nasdaq:INTC-Free Report), will be encouraged to develop innovative products for a secured cyber space. EMC recently announced its intention of spending on acquisitions that will prioritize security apart from storage.

Earlier this month, AT&T, Inc. (NYSE: T - Free Report) announced plans to launch an extended managed security solutions (MSS) suit, including mobile security solution, by this year end. The company's high-end MSS security solution seeks to combine network and device security together with secured virtual private networking, application and a suite of mobile device management solution. This service will provide corporate users with all-inclusive security for their mobile ecosystems regardless of utilization of the AT&T mobile network.

Additionally, the shares of cyber security firm FireEye, Inc. (Nasdaq:FEYE-Free Report) surged almost 80% at its trading debut last Friday, indicating that even Wall Street is keeping its eyes on the cyber security trend. FireEye is a global network security company that provides dynamic malware protection against latest cyber threats.

While mere listing and coding of security loopholes may not be the answer to hacking, it should serve as a stepping stone toward solving the extremely complex issue. Moreover, training and know-how on security matters are crucial since users often unknowingly guide hackers through their actions.

Today, Zacks is promoting its ''Buy'' stock recommendations. Get #1Stock of the Day pick for free.

About Zacks Equity Research

Zacks Equity Research provides the best of quantitative and qualitative analysis to help investors know what stocks to buy and which to sell for the long-term.

Continuous coverage is provided for a universe of 1,150 publicly traded stocks. Our analysts are organized by industry which gives them keen insights to developments that affect company profits and stock performance. Recommendations and target prices are six-month time horizons.

Zacks "Profit from the Pros" e-mail newsletter provides highlights of the latest analysis from Zacks Equity Research. Subscribe to this free newsletter today.

About Zacks

Zacks.com is a property of Zacks Investment Research, Inc., which was formed in 1978. The later formation of the Zacks Rank, a proprietary stock picking system; continues to outperform the market by nearly a 3 to 1 margin. The best way to unlock the profitable stock recommendations and market insights of Zacks Investment Research is through our free daily email newsletter; Profit from the Pros. In short, it's your steady flow of Profitable ideas GUARANTEED to be worth your time! Register for your free subscription to Profit from the Pros.

Get the full Report on FEYE - FREE

Get the full Report on T - FREE

Get the full Report on INTC - FREE

Get the full Report on SYMC - FREE

Get the full Report on EMC - FREE

Join us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Zacks-Investment-Research/57553657748?ref=ts

Zacks Investment Research is under common control with affiliated entities (including a broker-dealer and an investment adviser), which may engage in transactions involving the foregoing securities for the clients of such affiliates.

Media Contact
Zacks Investment Research
800-767-3771 ext. 9339
[email protected]
http://www.zacks.com

Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss. This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit http://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.

SOURCE Zacks Investment Research, Inc.