Cybersecurity used to mean just running McAfee antivirus software on your desktop computer.

That’s not true anymore.

Cyberattacks are no longer the result of clicking on a rogue link in a suspicious email. Now they occur on a global scale, and they are the subject of coverage from all major news outlets.

In the past two weeks, we’ve all learned about a major hack of the U.S. government. As CNBC reported:

The scale of a sophisticated cyberattack on the U.S. government that was unearthed this week is much bigger than first anticipated. 

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said in a summary Thursday that the threat “poses a grave risk to the federal government.”

It added that “state, local, tribal, and territorial governments as well as critical infrastructure entities and other private sector organizations” are also at risk.

While CISA hasn’t identified the group responsible for this incredibly dangerous hack, many experts point to Russia. By hacking the IT management company SolarWinds (NYSE:SWI), the cyber criminals were able to target the departments of Homeland Security, Commerce, Treasury, and Energy; cybersecurity firms like FireEye Inc. (NASDAQ:FEYE); and the tech giant Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT).

Obviously, these attacks are a threat to investors’ capital. A cyberattack on any company can, at a minimum, spook the market and push a stock’s value lower.

Microsoft, for example, dropped slightly the day after its breach was reported, but the effects of any cyberattack could always be worse than simply losing money on one of the largest tech companies in the world.

That’s why cybersecurity has become a major investment opportunity.

The term cybersecurity describes a broad range of proactive protections and reactive defenses — all of which try to thwart a specific cyber threat or combination of threats.

The first-generation cybersecurity tactics were usually add-on’s to an existing hardware or software platform — kind of like building a wall around an existing house. But many next-generation tactics incorporate cybersecurity from the ground up. Rather than circling a house with a wall, they attempt to build an impregnable castle.

Increasingly, this castle-building process requires made-in-America components, just to be on the safe side.

And there is a lot of building left to be done. In 2019, only 13% of U.S. states rated themselves as proficient in terms of cybersecurity.

Globally, countries and corporations spent about $159 billion on cybersecurity in 2019. But that number is on track to soar to $270 billion per year by 2026, according to the research firm Gartner.

That’s because cyber threats are growing by the day.

That means a whole slew of companies rising up to meet the demands of the market. So, cybersecurity isn’t just something we need in the U.S. It’s a growing industry providing many opportunities to profit.

The question is: Where do we start?

Today, I’ll give you an idea about where cybersecurity profits begin — and how we can take advantage …

Strong 5G Networks Are Cybersecurity

There are a lot of cybersecurity stocks available in the market, but most have very high valuations. I would even go so far as to suggest they are in a bit of a bubble.

Fortunately, we can avoid the turbulence of that sector and still invest in the cybersecurity segment by looking to one of the most important tech developments in years: 5G.

We’ve discussed 5G before.

5G technology drastically improves upload and download speeds, while also improving latency, which is the time it takes devices to communicate with wireless networks.

The current 4G network delivers around 100 megabits per second. But once 5G rolls out, that number jumps to 10,000 megabits per second – or 100 times faster than the current speed!

Whereas 4G provided the network speeds necessary to run online apps and mobile streaming video and audio, 5G represents a monumental leap forward. It provides the foundation for a whole host of technologies, including autonomous vehicles and the Internet of Things (IoT).

All those exciting innovations mean we’re on the cusp of a 5G revolution, but they also mean new vulnerabilities. Hackers gain new targets as each of these innovations comes online.

Can you imagine the consequences if a hacker took over even a single autonomous vehicle?

One way of shoring up our 5G infrastructure security is by partnering with trustworthy telecommunications equipment suppliers. In this case, the U.S. has been looking for partners to fill the gap left by Huawei, the company suspected of spying for the Chinese government.

The U.S. and many overseas governments and corporations have banned Huawei and other Chinese companies’ telecom equipment from their 5G infrastructure.

The best way to secure our 5G networks is to partner with companies from countries besides China. I call this trend “Not Made in China” — NMIC.

While the U.S. doesn’t have many homegrown options here, there is at least one NMIC company I like in this sector.

Goodbye Security Problems and Hello Opportunity

As I mentioned above, many countries besides the U.S. have been looking for companies to fill the gap left by Huawei and build more secure networks

And one company’s name keeps coming up.

Telcom providers all around the world are abandoning Huawei and are choosing this company to deploy 5G using its network equipment. In all, this company has signed 122 commercial 5G contracts, including with:

• TDC in Denmark
• Telstra in Australia
• AT&T in the United States
• Ooreedoo in the Middle East

The opportunity for this company is vast and growing. According to Grand View Research, the global 5G infrastructure market could absolutely explode in size to nearly half a trillion dollars by 2027.

That level of spending would represent a staggering compound growth rate of 106% per year between now and then.

All that means this company is in the right place at the right time … with the right products.

• It is a 5G powerhouse that provides a broad range of 5G hardware, solutions, and services.
• It can provide both end-to-end and partial solutions, and it can customize those solutions based on existing infrastructure and network capabilities.
• And its top competitors have been banned from the United States and much of the rest of the world.

That’s why I expect this company to become a very profitable, and potentially explosive, long-term winner.

After all, the 5G telecommunications sector is going to lay the ground for a whole host of new technologies, meaning it will be very valuable.

Qualcomm estimates that 5G will create a whopping $13.2 trillion in global sales activity by 2035. The technologies 5G will enable also measure their future growth prospects in the trillions of dollars.

It is powering the future of the tech economy… expecting investments from an overwhelming majority of the world’s companies… and instilling fear of falling behind in some firms.

The company I’ve identified has been spending heavily on research and development to solidify its leadership position. Plus, the company’s revenue and earnings prospects are excellent.

The stock might not produce explosive results over the near term, but I expect it to become a very profitable, and potentially explosive, long-term winner.

Cybersecurity stocks may be too expensive to buy right now, but this 5G pick is an excellent way to capitalize on growing concerns about cybersecurity around the world.

You can learn more about it – and my other NMIC recommendations — here.

On the date of publication, Eric Fry did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.

Eric Fry is an award-winning stock picker with numerous “10-bagger” calls — in good markets AND bad. How? By finding potent global megatrends … before they take off. And when it comes to bear markets, you’ll want to have his “blueprint” in hand before stocks go south.