Most distressingly, it seems hardly a week goes by that we don’t read about another corporate or governmental website getting hacked by nefarious intruders. Fighting this major scourge of the Internet Age is an industry onto itself, and that’s the focus of the PureFunds ISE Cyber Security ETF (HACK), which launched today on the NYSE Arca exchange.

This exchange-traded fund, billed as the first of its kind dedicated to cyber security, tracks the ISE Cyber Security Index and comprises 30 holdings across six sub-industries. HACK employs a modified equal-weight strategy, and holdings are classified either as cyber security infrastructure providers or cyber security service providers.

U.S.-based companies make up more than 85 percent of the portfolio, along with representation from Israel, Japan and the Netherlands. In descending order, the top five holdings are Vasco Data Security International Inc., Imperva Inc., Qualys Inc., Palo Alto Networks Inc. and Splunk Inc.

PureFunds is the product sponsor, and they’re licensing the underlying index from ISE ETF Ventures. The fund’s subadvisor is Factor Advisors LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Exchange Traded Managers Group LLC , which has the exemptive relief status from the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Investment Company Act of 1940 needed to launch ETFs.

The fund's expense ratio is 0.75 percent.

Christian Magoon, a consultant to ISE ETF Ventures, says HACK plugs into a long-term growth story. He cited a recent PwC study from September that said since 2009 the average compounded year-over-year growth rate of cyber attacks is 66 percent.

“People can’t believe there isn’t an ETF focused on this already because it seems like a no-brainer idea,” Magoon says, noting that many of HACK’s holdings are underrepresented in broad-based technology ETFs.

“These companies are essentially doing three things: providing hardware, software or services in the area of cyber security to governments, corporations and individuals,” Magoon says. “It’s kind of like a utility play in the technology space because while you might cut your budget for social media or might not do as much e-commerce spending, you can’t afford to not have cyber security.”

Perhaps, but given the high price-to-earnings multiples on some of HACK’s holdings (some still don’t have earnings) and their past volatility, investors shouldn’t expect a smooth ride even though the fund is tapped into a long-term trend that will probably never go away as long as society depends on the Internet.

“Their valuations could see some volatility, but the underlying driver of the businesses of these technology companies is probably a lot more defensive in nature than the average technology companies that depend on upgrade cycles, consumer spending and social media budgets,” Magoon says.