Ransomware's Human Enablers

Tasteless trades abound on financial markets. When war breaks out, defense shares usually rise; so it goes with cyber-war, which benefits firms that put up barriers against hackers. With global IT systems now being hacked by malicious blackmailers for the second time in as many months, any buzz should be good buzz for those fighting the black hats.

Yet the hype seems to be fizzing out somewhat. The U.S-traded ISE Cyber Security Index is down 1.6 percent in three days, under-performing the S&P 500, while a Europe-listed fund designed to track its performance is down 3.7 percent over the same period. On Wednesday alone, U.K. software specialist Sophos Group Plc fell as much as 5 percent. If the "WannaCry" attack last month was a "wake-up call" for cyber-security, this week's "Petya" seems to be putting everyone to sleep.