Understanding and Protecting Against APTs

As technology evolves, so do the threats against it. Businesses of all sizes face cyber adversaries in today’s digital world as cyber criminals attempt to access sensitive data and information. Among the most sophisticated and insidious of these are Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs).

As the name implies, APTs represent a category of cyber attacks characterized by their advanced tactics, long-term persistence and strategic targeting. However, by understanding what APTs are and how to protect against them, your company can reduce its chances of falling victim to these attacks.

Read: The Devastating Costs of a Cyber Attack

What Are APTs?

APTs are prolonged and targeted cyber attacks often orchestrated by well-funded, highly skilled and organized threat actors, nation-state actors, state-sponsored groups or organized crime groups. They involve a series of coordinated and sophisticated techniques, including social engineering, malware deployment, zero-day attacks and lateral movements. APTs also include high levels of expertise, resources and tools to gain access, evade detection and exfiltrate sensitive data, including information on employees, customers, finances and more.

Unlike most cyber attacks that try to get in and out quickly, APTs focus on stealth and long-term infiltration, aiming to maintain a persistent unauthorized presence within the targeted environment to steal as much data as possible. To do this, they often adapt and evolve against the safety features put into place, making them difficult to track and eliminate.

Why Do APTs Exist, and What Are Some Examples?

APTs can exist for numerous reasons, including:

• Espionage
• Data and intellectual property theft
• Military and network disruption
• Sabotage
• Hacktivism
• Destruction

Examples of popular APTs are:

• Titan Rain
• GhostNet
• Fancy Bear
• Cozy Bear

APT Lifecycle

A successful APT attack is broken down into four stages, which take place over a lengthy timeline to gain and maintain ongoing but undetected access to a system.

Stage 1: Reconnaissance

Attacks conduct thorough research on the target to identify vulnerabilities and potential entry points, like web assets, resources and human users, so they can plan how to get inside the system and avoid detection. They might use the internet and social media to identify potential victims they can target through social engineering attacks like phishing.

Stage 2: Infiltration

The APT attack gains access to the targeted network and starts building up its presence.

Stage 3: Expansion

The attacker then creates a persistent presence within the network. It might install a series of backdoors that grant network access or tunnels so they can easily move around. They also increase privileges and gain further access, especially with administrator rights, all the while looking for sensitive data and information. Once they find the data they want, they encrypt it, compress it and store it somewhere secret and secure, waiting for extraction.

Stage 4: Exfiltration

The attacker then transfers the data out of the network without being detected. This mostly happens when the hacker uses white noise or false flag tactics, like Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks, to distract the IT team and tie up resources as they extract the data. From there, the hacker can sell the data to competing companies or use it to sabotage the victim company.

Keep in mind that even if the APT is eventually discovered, the backdoors and tunnels make it possible for the attacker to come back and steal more data later in the future.

How to Protect Against APTs

By combining a multi-layered technology defense with a security-conscious workforce, you can build a resilient defense against APTs.

• Educate employees: Conduct regular training sessions to share best practices and educate employees about social engineering tactics and the importance of vigilant online behavior. Stress the importance of not clicking on suspicious links or opening solicited attachments. Educate staff on what to do and who to notify if they do detect anything suspicious.
• Implement strong passwords and 2FA: Emphasize the need for strong, complex passwords, and implement two-factor authentication (2FA) for an extra layer of security.
• Enhance network security: This includes a robust firewall, email filters and intrusion detection and prevention systems to monitor and block suspicious network traffic and emails. Also, regularly update and patch software so cyber criminals can’t exploit vulnerabilities.
• Endpoint security: Utilize advanced endpoint security solutions to detect and mitigate malware and other malicious activities. Restrict unauthorized software from executing on endpoints.
• Encrypt data and limit access: Encrypt sensitive data to protect it from being accessed by unauthorized entities. Limit access controls and admin rights to ensure only authorized users have permission to view or modify sensitive information.
• Create an incident response plan: Develop and regularly test an incident response plan and robust monitoring solutions to detect unusual or suspicious activities within the network. Utilize anomaly detection and behavior analytics to identify variations from normal network behavior.

Partner with Thriveon

APTs are no joke, and protecting against them requires constant vigilance and work. By partnering with Thriveon, you can access our robust cybersecurity services that protect your company from cyber attacks while also meeting cybersecurity compliance requirements.

Schedule a meeting with us now to see how we can help.