This month’s widespread and destructive ransomware attack crippled thousands of businesses worldwide, writes Validea CEO John Reese in a recent article for TheStreet.com. Fortunately, the attack didn’t penetrate the U.S. to a great extent, Reese writes, but only thanks to a lucky catch by a British researcher.

The level of preparedness in these situations, Reese says, is driven by a business’s expectations regarding what might happen. “This isn’t unlike the world of investing,” he says, because “expectations are often what drive investor behavior and, subsequently, shifts in share value.” Reese explains how Validea views a company’s fundamentals as a “springboard for future success, profitability and shareholder returns.”

Using stock screening models he created, Reese identifies the following high-scoring cybersecurity sector stocks:

• Verisign (VRSN) is a provider of domain-name registry services and internet security that scores well based on earnings yield and return-on-total capital.
• NICE Ltd. (NICE) is a global enterprise software provider that offers financial crime and compliance solutions. The company earns high marks for its ratio of inventory to sales and earnings-per-share growth.
• Qualys (QLYS) provides cloud-based security and compliance solutions, and is favored for its annual earnings growth and the stock’s price performance.
• Mimecast Limited (MIME) provides risk management and cloud security for corporate information and email. The company earns high scores for the stock’s relative strength, revenue base and operating cash flow.