Cybercriminals are putting more and more effort and creativity into carrying out attacks. Therefore, they prefer much more attractive targets such as organizations. Advanced Persistent Threats (APT) are proof of this. As the name “advanced” suggests, an advanced persistent threat (APT) uses continuous, clandestine and advanced hacking techniques to gain access to a system and stay there for a long time, with potentially destructive consequences.
Its particularity is that it runs for an extended period of time, mainly because the cybercriminals responsible are very dedicated. They are responsible for investigating the target and defining the reason for attacking. In addition, they invest a lot in economic resources to prepare their infrastructure and thus ensure that the attack is carried out successfully. Furthermore, the attacks that are carried out through APTs include completely customized malware according to the chosen objective.
Due to the level of effort required to carry out such an attack, APTs often partner with high-value targets, such as countries and large corporations, with the aim of stealing information over a long period of time, rather than simply “ get in “and get out fast, as many black hat hackers do during low-level cyberattacks.
What is most striking and should not be surprising, for obvious reasons, is how quickly they become more and more sophisticated. Consequently, globally, there are full-time, high-cost IT security experts who are in charge of designing, creating and implementing APTs. These people are backed by important organizations and personalities with specific interests, which is why attacks are almost always executed more than successfully. Some of the tasks they do are accessing confidential information, creating and inserting malicious code.
The overall purpose of an APT attack is to gain continuous access to the system. Hackers accomplish this in a series of stages.
▸Get access
Just like a thief forces a door with a crowbar, to insert malware into a target network, cybercriminals often gain access via a network, an infected file, spam, or an application vulnerability.
▸Infiltrate
Cybercriminals implant malware that creates a network of back doors and tunnels used to navigate systems unnoticed.
▸Intensify access
Once inside, hackers use techniques such as password cracking to access administrator rights, increase control over the system, and gain higher levels of access.
▸Horizontal displacement
With a higher level of foray into the system thanks to administrator rights, hackers can move around it at will.
▸Look, learn and stay
From inside the system, hackers gain a complete understanding of how it works and its vulnerabilities, allowing them to make use of the information they want.
Without a doubt, a very dangerous threat, but everything can be avoided. Having a contingency plan is always essential to face these threats, prepare, educate, etc., the employees, hire experts in the security area, and many other ways.
See also:
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