Nation-State / APT Advanced Persistent Threat

 Nation-State Threat Actor

A nation-state threat actor is a government-affiliated hacker who carries out malicious activities on behalf of a country or nation-state. These actors are often motivated by political or economic interests and can be tasked with a variety of objectives, including:

• Disrupting critical infrastructure
• Stealing industrial secrets
• Gaining access to policy discussions
• Taking down companies that offend leaders
• Conducting disinformation or propaganda campaigns
• Influencing elections
• Disrupting a country's security, economy, or government departments

Nation-state actors are often well-funded and can use sophisticated cyberattacks and advanced persistent threats (APTs) to operate undetected in a victim's network. APTs can be challenging to detect and expensive, allowing threat actors to infiltrate computer systems, steal data, and escalate privileges.

Some examples of nation-state threat actors include:

Camaro Dragon

This threat group from China is also known as the Mustang Panda, Bronze President, Earth Preta, Luminous Moth, Red Delta, and Stately Taurus.

Gamaredon

Also known as Primitive Bear, UNC530, ACTINIUM, Shuckworm, UAC-0010, and Aqua Blizzard, this is a threat group from Russia.

RedHotel

A threat actor reportedly backed by the Chinese government has targeted the space industry and other critical sectors.

 Competitor Threat Actor

Competitors can be threat actors, using malicious strategies to gain access to a company's systems and steal information. Competitors can be a significant threat because they have the resources and sophistication to bring down a company's systems.

Competitors may use a variety of strategies to harm a company, including:

Espionage: Competitors may try to gain access to insider information

Disruption: Competitors may try to disrupt a company's services to cause problems for its customers

Stealing customer information: Competitors may try to steal customer information

Corrupting data: Competitors may try to corrupt a company's data to prevent it from functioning

Shutting down during busy times: Competitors may try to shut down a company during its busiest times

 Insider Threat Actor

An insider threat actor is someone who uses their authorized access to an organization's systems or network to cause harm, intentionally or unintentionally. Insider threat actors include current or former employees, contractors, or business associates.

Insider threats can be challenging to detect because the threat actor already has legitimate access to the organization's systems. Some examples of insider threats include:

Malicious insider

Also known as a Turncloak, this actor intentionally abuses their access to steal information for personal or financial gain.

Careless insider

This actor unknowingly exposes the system to outside threats through mistakes like leaving a device exposed.

Collaborator

This actor works with a third party to harm the organization, such as a competitor, nation-state, or criminal network.

Some signs of an insider threat include Logging into the network at odd hours, Accessing information unrelated to their job, Downloading large amounts of data, Copying data to personal devices, and Creating unauthorized accounts.

Unskilled Attacker - Script Kiddie

 Unskilled Attacker

A script kiddie is a novice hacker who uses pre-made scripts or software to launch cyberattacks. They are also known as unskilled attackers. They find and download the tools from the Internet.

Script kiddies are dangerous because they can cause real damage, Be detected faster than experienced hackers, and Have their identities discovered.

Some script kiddies' characteristics include Inexperience, indiscreetness, Recklessness, Impulse, and attention-seeking.

Script kiddie attacks are characterized by the following:

Repeatability

Script kiddies use pre-made attacks that have been used on other companies at different times.

Openness

Script kiddies don't know how to mask attacks, so you probably immediately notice the problem.

Unsophisticated

Script kiddies often can't cover their tracks, so you can quickly identify who they are and where they come from.

Organized Crime - Threat Actor

 Organized Crime

An organized crime threat actor is a group of criminals who use cyberattacks to make a profit. They may use hackers to steal credit card numbers or other information to sell on the black market. Organized crime threat actors often have a corporate structure with different roles, such as someone who hacks, manages exploits, sells data, or handles customer support.

Threat actors are people or groups who intentionally cause harm to digital systems or devices. They exploit network, software, and computer system vulnerabilities to carry out cyberattacks. Some other types of threat actors include:

Insiders

A team member, former team member, partner, or third-party contractor who wants to access an organization's data, systems, or network

Hacktivists

Groups who have a social, political, or ideological reason for their attacks

Cyber terrorists

Actors who may target businesses, governments, or infrastructure to cause economic and physical harm

Advanced persistent threat (APT) actors

Actors who may be aligned with a country's government and use malware to gain access to accounts

Hacktivist - Threat Actor

 Hacktivist

A hacktivist threat actor is a person or group that uses cyberattacks to make a political or social statement. Hacktivists are motivated by a need to publicize an organization's misdeeds or to be part of a political or social movement rather than money.

Hacktivists often target organizations, websites, or systems that they perceive to oppose their beliefs. Their attacks include defacing a website to spread a specific message, exposing sensitive information, disrupting critical infrastructure, and causing DDoS (distributed denial of service) attacks.

Hacktivists are different from ethical or white hat hackers, who work with organizations to test their approach to cybersecurity. Hacktivists also differ from cybercriminals, who are typically motivated by money.

 Sensitive Data

Sensitive data is information that could be harmful or cause adverse consequences if it's disclosed, misused, or accessed without authorization. It's a higher tier of information than personal data and requires more excellent protection.

Here are some examples of sensitive data:

Personal data: Names, email addresses, phone numbers, birth dates, government-issued identification, and digital identifiers

Financial information: Bank account numbers, debit or credit card details, transaction data, and other financial statements

Business-related data: Trade secrets; planning, financial, and accounting information

Governmental data: Restricted, confidential, secret, or top-secret information

Health-related data: Medical history and other health-related information

Other data: Genetic data, biometric data, data concerning a person's sex life or sexual orientation, and trade union membership

Mishandling sensitive data can put organizations at risk of legal liability claims, operational slowdowns, and lost competitive advantage.