The Asian Development Bank and ministries of foreign affairs, a custom PowerShell implant known as Helminth, Cyber security careers are in high demand, how to become a cyber security specialist, 7 Cyber Security Books You Should Be Reading in 2021, Recent Ransomware Attacks 2020 Explained [Part 1], Mobile Banking Security: Stay Alert and Protect Your Money, Explore 6 Types of Network Security and Ensure Robust Protection, Looking for an All-in-One Virtual Event? In short, APT attacks are quite different than traditional worms, in the sense that many security measures are not efficient at preventing them. The level of sophistication used in the attacks led Adam Paller, SANS Institute research director, to state “no other organisation could do this if they were not a military”. Lastly, data exfiltration is the final phase of an APT life cycle. APT attacks happen for a variety of reasons. Speaking of prevention, detection is important at the first place. You’ll be given an opportunity to expose yourself to intensive training and security incidents using simulated challenges related to cyber incidents. Deep Panda is believed to be a Chinese state sponsored advanced cyber intrusion group to target several critical industries, such as government, defense, legal, financial, and telecommunications, for espionage purposes. 1 under Advanced Persistent Threat from NIST SP 800-39 An adversary that possesses sophisticated levels of expertise and significant resources which allow it to create opportunities to achieve its objectives by using multiple attack vectors including, for example, cyber, physical, and deception. community views this type of attack as a complex, sophisticated cyber-attack that can last months or even years. Warnings against targeted, socially-engineered emails dropping trojans to exfiltrate sensitive information were published by UK and US CERT organisations in 2005. If that is the case, then an Advanced Persistent Threat can represent either a gold mine or a money pit, and for more than just spy agencies. Examples include the Titan Rain, Ghostnet, Stuxnet attacks and others. APT groups start their campaign by gaining access to a network via one of three attack surfaces: web-based systems, networks, or ... 2. Heron has more than 16 years’ experience in the IT industry, including eight years’ experience in internet security. Commonplace online retail scams and how you can avoid becoming a victim, How fraudsters trick you out of your money, Get Safe Online Caribbean Cyber Heroes announced, Get Safe Online Global24 Activities Update, Digital safety and safeguarding children and young people from harmful influences online, Cyber security update for all health and social care staff, Security-by-design: the inside-out approach to combat IOT breaches. Many security analysts pointed the finger at the Chinese military (People’s Liberation Army) as the source of the attacks. Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) is a name given to attacks that specifically and persistently target an entity. Organisations can utilise anomaly detection to create profiles of what the normal user looks like. Cyber attacks mostly rely on automated exploitation of known vulnerabilities over large numbers of targets, and APTs represent a more dangerous class. The term "advanced persistent threat" has been cited as originating from the United States Air Force in 2006 with Colonel Greg Rattray cited as the individual who coined the term. 1. GhostNet was reported to have compromised the devices of political, economic and media targets in nearly 103 countries, including the embassies of India, South Korea, Indonesia, Romania, and others. The GhostNet attacks were executed by spear-phishing emails containing malicious downloadable files that loaded a Trojan horse on the user’s system, allowing the execution of commands from a remote command and control system, which downloaded malware to take full control of the infiltrated system. February 2016. Examples of advanced persistent threats (APTs) Advanced persistent threats are mainly aligned with nation-states, but there are some well-organized criminal groups that also have similar capabilities. When the attackers accomplish their goal, they cover their traces, deleting signs of their existence and any information that might enable for finding the source of the attack. APTs are usually sponsored by nations or very large organizations. But, it doesn’t mean that we are going to lose the fight against intruders. Its control infrastructure was reported to have been located largely in China, and this attack was directed against the Tibetan community, however the Chinese government has denied the fact. Its complexity indicated that only nation state actors could have been involved in its development and deployment. Like Stuxnet, Skywiper (Flame) redefined the complexity of malware in its time. Considered at the time to be one of the most sophisticated pieces of Malware ever detected, the Stuxnet Worm was used in operations against Iran in 2010. One major mistake that is usually observed is that organisations tend to neglect prevention and focus only on detection. The term advanced persistent threat or simply APT has become broadly used over the past few years. Want more information? Thus, the following are the four characteristics of advanced persistent threats that are worth remembering, which you probably never knew. How to prevent advanced persistent threat? The earliest use of the term “advanced persistent threat” emerged from the U.S. government sector in 2005, describing a new, deceptive form of attack that targeted selected employees and tricked them into downloading a file or accessing a website infected with Trojan horse software. Unlike most cyber criminals, APT attackers pursue their objectives over months or years. The main goal in this phase is to expand the footprint of the initial compromise to ensure that even if one or more of the breaches is discovered, access is maintained. As regards the technicalities, this group was most commonly associated with a custom PowerShell implant known as Helminth. Traditional firewalls seem to haven’t kept pace with the rapid changes and threats in the world of cyber security. Technically, prevention can decelerate the intruder, granting an organisation a little time to detect an adversary. In fact, this is a highly multi-faceted approach: the group made many modifications, downloaded new malware, then manipulated the memory. It’s advisable that organizations should search for problems even though there isn’t apparent sign of an attacker on the network. An advanced persistent threat (APT) refers to an attack that continues, secretively, using innovative hacking methods to access a system and stay inside for a long period of time. Simon Heron is the CTO at https://www.redscan.com, a managed security company, where he is responsible for developing the overall business and technology strategy and growth. Sykipot attacks leverage vulnerabilities in Adobe Reader and Acrobat and are part of a long-running series of cyberattack campaigns aimed primarily at U.S and U.K organisations including defence contractors, telecommunications companies and government departments. First penetration and malware deployment. Advanced persistent threat attacks can be traced as far back at the 1980s, with notable examples including The Cuckoo’s Egg, which documents the discovery and hunt for a hacker who had broken into Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Progression of Advanced Persistent Threats. Advanced Persistent Threat attackers use a variety of email-based techniques to create attacks, including email spoofing and phishing, supported by other physical and external exploitation techniques. Threat means the adversary is organized, funded and motivated. Meet Cyber Expo of Switzerland, Cyber Expo of Switzerland: Exhibit Your Innovations, 5 Cyber Security Movies You Should Watch in 2021, A Holistic Approach to Ethical Issues in Cyber Security, 3 Reasons Why You Should Think about Cyber Expo of Switzerland, 5 Best Cyber Security Documentaries You Must Watch in 2021, 3 Cyber Security Predictions for 2021 by Swiss Cyber Forum, Cyber Security Threats in Energy Sector: Everything You Need to Know. This advanced group has utilised perfectly structured spear-phishing messages that were so relevant to targeted users. Advanced Persistent Threat Defined. Learn how Intertec helped a government customer in GCC improve their security posture by leveraging Advanced Persistent Threat cybersecurity solution. Cyber security careers are in high demand. [Bejtlich, 2010] The Anatomy of an Advanced Persistent Threat [Cutler, 2010] describes the typical APT strategy. He has an MSc in Microprocessor Technology and Applications, and a BSc in Naval Architecture and Shipbuilding and is a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) and is a PCI-DSS Implementor (PCI-IM). Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) are well prepared and long persistent attacks on certain targets. This point of entry method to corporate and government systems, known as spear-phishing, is the most commonly used tactic in APT attacks. Check our Cyber Security Specialist training with Swiss Federal Diploma. The following are 3 notable examples of advanced persistent threats. A recently discovered APT attack affecting the US Government's Office of Personnel Management has been attributed to what’s being described as on-going cyberwar between China and the U.S. Five APT Attack Stages. Moreover, these attacks have been generally organised by groups associated with nation-states and target highly valuable information. Still, this technology is able to detect harmful action, increasing protection against APTs. Another great benefit of this technology is that it offers visibility and context of threat trails, which leads to significant increase in incident response and to produces both short-term and long-term cost savings. APTs shouldn’t be seen to be incidental, instead they formulate a strong strategy that intends to attain a bigger objective. 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