Advanced Persistent Threats: What Your Business Needs to Know

An APT is a stealthy cyberattack where hackers gain access to a network and stay there undetected for a long time. Over the past decade, APTs have become a huge threat, with attacks increasing exponentially.

In this blog post, we're going to cover the basics of APTs and what you can do to protect your organization from them.

APTs are sophisticated cyberattacks in which unauthorized hackers gain access to a network and remain undetected for an extended period.

NIST defines an APT as "An adversary with sophisticated levels of expertise and significant resources, allowing it through the use of multiple different attack vectors (e.g., cyber, physical, and deception), to generate opportunities to achieve its objectives."

These stealthy infiltrations usually aim for the following:

1. Establish and Extend Presence: The APT aims to establish and extend its presence within the information technology infrastructure of organizations.
2. Continuous Exfiltration of Information: A primary objective is to continually exfiltrate information from the targeted organizations.
3. Undermine or Impede Critical Aspects: The APT seeks to undermine or impede critical aspects of a mission, program, or organization.
4. Position for Future Actions: Another objective is to place itself in a position to undermine or impede the targeted organization in the future.
5. Utilize Multiple Attack Vectors: The APT employs various attack vectors, including cyber, physical, and deception, to achieve its goals.
6. Repetition Over an Extended Period: A key characteristic is the repetition of pursuing objectives over an extended period of time.
7. Adaptation to Defensive Efforts: The APT adapts to the defender's efforts to resist it, indicating a high level of sophistication and persistence.
8. Determination to Maintain Interaction: There is a determination to maintain the level of interaction needed to execute its objectives.
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APT groups, typically state-sponsored, are very patient and persistent. They do extensive reconnaissance to find vulnerabilities and customize malware to evade detection. Once inside, they move laterally through the network to locate high-value targets and install backdoors to maintain access.

These covert threats are difficult to thwart since the adversaries are adept at hiding their tracks. They employ zero-day exploits, frequently change tactics, and utilize compromised credentials and insider knowledge.

If your organization has valuable digital assets or sensitive data, it's at high risk of APTs.

The term "advanced persistent threat" (APT) started in the U.S. Department of Defense to talk about cyber espionage by China against the U.S. As time went on, APTs became a hot topic in business security.

Today, APTs have become one of the most have grown to be among the most sophisticated and unbeatable cyberattacks.

APT groups are also highly sophisticated, using advanced techniques to evade detection. They exploit software vulnerabilities, deploy custom malware, and frequently rotate domains and IP addresses. They also use a combination of attack methods including phishing, social engineering, remote desktop controller, and much more to gain a foothold in the network.

Some even monitor for signs they’ve been discovered and adapt their methods accordingly.

These persistent threats are dangerous because they operate stealthily over long periods. APT actors patiently work to penetrate networks and often have specific targets in mind, like intellectual property or financial information. Once inside, they establish footholds to maintain access and extract data at will.

Are you a potential target?

Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) do not discriminate based on company size. Whether you are a major player or a smaller business, you could become a target for APT groups. Sometimes, smaller organizations might be attacked as part of a bigger scheme, such as disrupting a critical service.

No industry is safe from APTs, but sectors like finance, healthcare, government, and technology are particularly high on the target list. Any company with valuable digital assets or trade secrets is at risk.

One of the most well-known APT attacks was Stuxnet, a cyberattack on Iran's nuclear program. In 2010, the Stuxnet worm targeted industrial programmable logic controllers (PLCs) used to automate machine processes at a uranium enrichment plant. Stuxnet caused Iran’s nuclear centrifuges to spin out of control and self-destruct, setting back their nuclear program for years.

Another devastating APT was the cyberattack on Saudi Aramco in 2012. The Shamoon virus erased data on 30,000 of Saudi Aramco's computers, disrupting the company's business operations for months. Shamoon targeted and wiped clean the master boot records of computers, making the machines unusable.

In 2013, the Chinese APT group Comment Crew (also known as APT1) infiltrated the networks of The New York Times, stealing passwords and accessing the computers of 53 Times employees. The attack coincided with an investigative report into the finances of China's prime minister Wen Jiabao. Comment Crew gained access to the Times’ systems for months before detection, demonstrating the stealth and persistence of APT groups.

The examples above demonstrate how damaging APTs can be. Whether motivated by politics, money, or cyberwarfare, APT groups have the patience, skills, and resources to infiltrate systems and maintain access long enough to significantly disrupt operations or steal sensitive data. Without proper defenses, any organization connected to the internet is at risk of suffering the consequences of an APT attack.

Understanding the strategies employed in past APT attacks is an essential step in learning how to stay clear of repeating the same mistakes.

The biggest challenge when it comes to APTs are the hidden nature of the threat and the long-term nature of the attacks. That's why detecting sophisticated cyber threats like APTs requires diligent monitoring and a proactive, impenetrable defense. As a business owner, there are several practical steps you can take to strengthen your security posture against these persistent actors.

You might think protecting your business from Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) requires cutting-edge wizardry, but truth be told, it's about strategic design and aligning your defenses with APT attack patterns.

Reimagine Your Security Architecture: First, rethink your security architecture, identifying and fortifying areas that may have been overlooked or underestimated. Implement mechanisms to detect APT activity, such as security information and event management (SIEM) tools, endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions, and user behavior analytics (UBA). These technologies analyze activity across your network and endpoints to identify anomalies that could indicate an APT intrusion.

Learn from Historic Attacks: Analyze successful attacks and use that intel to shape your proactive security strategies.

Back to Basics: Australia’s Defence Signals Directorate (DSD) and the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) pinpointed the fundamentals. Want to ward off APTs? Start with these four strategies:

• Application Whitelisting: Control what runs on your systems.
• Patch Common Applications: Stay up-to-date on your software fixes.
• Patch Operating System Vulnerabilities: Seal those loopholes.
• Minimize Administrative Privileges: Limit the power users.

One of the most important things you can do is train your employees on security best practices and how to spot phishing emails or malicious links. APT actors often rely on social engineering to gain initial access, so building a culture of awareness and vigilance is key. Most often, APT attacks start with an employee clicking on a link or opening a malicious attachment.

The harsh reality is that APTs have the means, motive, and opportunity to infiltrate most business networks. The key is implementing a multi-layered defense with controls at the network perimeter and inside as well. Have a plan for monitoring systems and spotting anomalies that could indicate malicious activity. And don't go it alone - partner with cybersecurity experts who can help assess risks, strengthen protections, and respond in the event of an attack.

APTs are real threats targeting businesses like yours every day. But don't lose hope. By learning how APT actors operate, the tactics they deploy, and their objectives, you've gained valuable insight into defending your business. Now take action and put what you've learned into practice. Develop a comprehensive cybersecurity plan, implement the latest threat detection tools, train your employees, and consider partnering with experts.

At Threat Intelligence, we help businesses defend against APTs with our security automation suite - Evolve. Evolve automates the most crucial cybersecurity tasks ranging from threat detection, threat intelligence to incident response so that you don't have to go through the hassle of manually looking for threats, investigating the threats, and responding to them.

Staying on top of the evolving threat landscape is key. While APTs are persistent, so must you be in protecting your business. Book a personalized demo with one of our experts today and avoid falling prey to APTs.