Cyber Stocks Jump as CrowdStrike, Palo Alto Networks Ride AI Agent Hack Fears - Palo Alto Networks (NASDA

Top cybersecurity stocks have rallied this year as concerns about the new phase of hacking in the artificial intelligence (AI) era.

CrowdStrike (NASDAQ:CRWD) and Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ:PANW) have soared by 60% and 80% this year, outperforming the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indices.

Other top cybersecurity names have rallied alongside it: Fortinet is up roughly 104% this year, while SentinelOne has also climbed as investors bet on rising demand tied to the new era of AI-driven cybercrime.

In a recent note, Dan Ives predicted that cybersecurity spending will double in the next three years.

Concerns about this new form of cybercrime have jumped after the recent events from companies like Anthropic and OpenAI.