We’re now officially in the age of cybercrime. And the problem is reaching epidemic proportions.

Consider these statistics:

— An estimated one-in-three computers have been attacked by viruses, spyware or phishing programs.

— Companies spend more than $46 billion on IT equipment, software, services and personnel to protect data, according to Allied Business Intelligence, a technology market research firm.

— 20,000. That’s the number of malicious “apps” that exist on Android smartphone devices. That’s 20,000 different ways for a skilled hacker to break into your smartphone and steal your personal information.

These are mind-blowing numbers, which depict the level of danger we’re dealing with. But with any crisis, there is a great investing opportunity.

#-ad_banner-#James Clapper, the director of National Intelligence, put cybercrimes at the top of his annual list of threats facing the United States. He ranked it above natural disasters, violent crimes, viral pandemics and nuclear weaponry.

The scary part? Many of these cyberattacks aren’t just happening to one or two victims at a time. A lot of them are happening on a massive scale. Just think about the financial destruction cyberterrorists caused corporations — and their customers — in 2014 alone.

In January, Target announced that hackers had stolen private information from about 110 million of its shoppers.

Later in August, 83 million customers of JPMorgan Chase had their privacy invaded by hackers.

And just one month after that, Home Depot confirmed a cyberattack that claimed the private information of 56 million customers.

All told, we’re talking about 250 million consumers attacked in a matter of months and damages in the neighborhood of $1.2 billion. All from just three attacks.

Then there was the massive breach at Sony Pictures in late 2014 in which hackers obtained some 100 terabytes of stolen data from Sony servers. To put that into perspective, the entire printed collection of the Library of Congress could be held on just 10 terabytes.

Medical records, passport images and personal salaries of more than 6,000 employees were all stolen. Not to mention the hackers also managed to steal several unreleased movies from the company’s servers and upload them on the internet — a move that likely cost Sony hundreds of millions of dollars in box office sales.

But that’s just a drop in the bucket compared to what hackers are costing other unsuspecting victims around the world. Computer security firm McAfee estimates the global cost of cybercrime to be about $445 billion. For perspective, if it were a country, cyberterrorism would have the 26th largest economy in the world, just ahead of Austria.

When you look at the facts, it’s easy to see why that number is so astronomical.

In 2013, the last year data was reported, 1.5 million cyberattacks occurred. And a recent survey found that 63% of Americans have already been hit by cyberattacks in their lifetimes. Even worse, 29% of respondents reported they access their bank account information using public internet connections — with many of them not taking any special precautions to protect their private data.

Simply put, this is a threat unlike any we have ever faced. And it’s only going to get worse.

Now, I don’t bring all of this up to scare you — although you should be concerned. Rather, it’s important to understand the magnitude of the problem in order to fully grasp how complex (and costly) the solution will be.

That’s why the tech companies fighting this new threat are in such high demand. Just take a look at this chart, which shows how well shares of cybersecurity firms are performing compared to the S&P 500.

Each year, cybersecurity firms have steadily outpaced the S&P 500. Analysts and savvy investors are beginning to see the trend and recognize the importance of these companies.

By 2019, the cybersecurity industry is expected to grow by 63% to a whopping $155.7 billion. That’s because governments, corporations and individuals will spend more on cybersecurity than ever before.

With that type of growth, the companies that are able to innovate and capture a large share of the available business should greatly outperform the broader market.

I’ve written about many of the key players in this space in my premium newsletter, Game-Changing Stocks. In fact, I’ve identified four little-known companies, in particular, that are leading the cybersecurity industry — and they could make a killing for early investors.

Remember, the benefit of investing in these companies is two-fold.

Not only will you be investing in new innovations and advanced weaponry to help stop these vicious cyberattacks, but the gains you could see in the near future have the potential to be life-changing.

I’ve compiled my findings into a special presentation, which you can access here. In addition, you’ll learn how to view a special report I put together that reveals the names of these companies. To get your hands on this information, go here.