According to the Statistics of 2023, 78% of organizations experience downtime due to APT attacks.
An Advanced Persistent Threat is a persistent attack in which an intruder gains unauthorized access to a network and remains undetected.
APTs typically involve careful planning, advanced techniques, and continuous targeting of specific organizations, often for espionage or data theft.
Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) – Bad news for Organizations
Advanced Persistent Threat is a modern attack specifically designed to target organizations. It uses custom malware that is executed to target that particular organization.
These attacks are not used for seizures and frauds like spammers or phishing. Instead, they are used for high-value operations such as stealing the design of an aircraft.
The term persistent reflects the long-term nature of the threat. It carries out the malware activity in multiple steps to slow the process. The gradual exposure avoids detection.
For example, stealing the design of aircraft can be a long process due to the large volume of data. APT breaks down this extensive data into smaller chunks, sent out individually when the system is connected to the internet.
What’s different about APT?
Let’s see what is different about advanced persistent threats.
APT is more about Extracting Data
APTs are often launched to extract data rather than damage the targeted organization’s network.
The emphasis in most APT attacks is on establishing and sustaining persistent access to the target. There is investment, time, and resources required for APT campaigns.
The Target is usually High Profile.
APT attacks focus on important organizations like governments or big companies. The goal is to steal valuable information by secretly getting into their computer systems and staying there for a long time without being noticed.
High-value targets, such as nation-states and large corporations, are chosen due to the potential for significant gains.
More Sophisticated
Unlike regular attacks, hackers require more skills and resources to execute an ATP attack. An advanced persistent threat attack requires a complex and advanced type of infrastructure.
Also, it requires a team of hackers who are proficient and capable of executing this complex attack.
Phases of Advanced Persistent Threats
An APT attack is carried out in a total of 6 phases. They are as follows:
- Gaining Information
This is the first step of the attack in which the hackers gather information about their target. They try to identify vulnerabilities to make their attack successful by accessing information like addresses, domain names, and emails.
This step is followed by weaponization, in which strategies are developed to target the vulnerabilities. These strategies are implemented in the form of Payloads.
- Delivery of Malware
The malware (payloads) are sent to the target through multiple vectors as an initial foot-hole. The human element is the most vulnerable component of an organization’s security infrastructure.
Hence, hackers attack an organization’s personnel by conducting phishing attacks, drive-by downloads, and developing new exploits for zero-day vulnerabilities.
- Lateral Movement
In this phase, hackers successfully breach a system, including obtaining administrator rights. They can now move laterally within the organization’s network without restrictions. This lateral movement allows them to explore network parts, including servers and secure areas.
By doing so, threat actors aim to escalate their control and find more valuable information. This movement within the network enables them to stay undetected and increases the chances of prolonged and extensive data compromise.
- Command and Control
The attacker establishes and maintains communication with the compromised system. APT employs various services for this purpose. C&C instructions are provided in social media messages or blog posts using network traffic monitoring tools to bypass detection.
For example, attackers post a blog that contains malicious scripts in a renowned software application. When the victim clicks on the infected blog post, its system gets infected with malware, establishing communication between the attacker and the targeted system.
- Expand Access
Once the ATP attack is initiated within an organization, ATP expands its access to other networks. Attackers use stolen login credentials and access high-value digital assets to gain access to other systems on the web.
Furthermore, they also put up the pretense of being legitimate user traffic by masking movement.
- Data Exfiltration
Data exfiltration is the most critical phase of APT, in which stolen data is encrypted and compressed to transfer data from a compromised system to an attacker-controlled system.
Deadly Advanced Persistent Attacks
Advanced Persistent Attacks were first reported in the 2000’s. In 2003, Chinese hackers launched Titan Rain against the American government to steal crucial state secrets. It was intended to target military data.
Some of the famous ATP are mentioned below:
The Sykipot APT Malware Family
Sykipot ATP is used to manipulate vulnerabilities in Adobe Reader and Acrobat. Since 2006, this malware has been used to execute attacks until 2013.
Sykipot mainly targets organizations in the UK and the US. Hackers remotely control the compromised network by using Sykipot as a backdoor.
They send phishing emails to the victim that contain malicious content and zero-day targeted emails to turn off security software and take control of the system.
Flame
Flame was discovered in 2012 by the Iranian Computer Emergency Response Team (MAHER) as a cyberespionage malware program.
It not only stole the victims’ data and controlled their systems remotely but also spies on the victim through its built-in microphone feature. This malware mainly targets the Middle East and infects large-scale local networks.
The GhostNet Cyber Espionage Operation
The GhostNet was executed by China and was reported for the first time in 2009. Phishing emails were used to attack the targeted systems. It has been successful in its endeavor in more than 100 countries.
Network devices of government ministries and embassies were accessed to enable the hackers to control the compromised computers.
It also allowed the hackers to spy on their targets by turning them into listening and recording devices with built-in cameras and audio recording capabilities.
The Stuxnet Worm
It is regarded as one of the most sophisticated APTs. Stuxnet was detected in 2010 when Iran’s nuclear program was attacked. SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) systems are one of its primary targets, and the malware was spread with infected USB devices.
APT28
APT28 is also known as Fancy Bear, Pawn Storm, Sofacy Group, and Sednit. Researchers at Trend Micro identified the Russian advanced threat in 2014.
It was reported that APT28 was associated with cyberattacks against military and government entities in Eastern Europe, notably Ukraine and Georgia.
Furthermore, the cybercriminals of this group have executed attacks against NATO organizations and U.S. defense contractors.
APT29
It is also a Russian advanced persistent threat known as Cozy Bear. It was involved in 5 spear phishing attacks on the Pentagon and Democratic National Committee in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
ATP34
Researchers at FireEye identified this ATP in 2017, but it has been active since 2014. It is an advanced, persistent threat associated with Iran.
ATP34 has attacked the Middle East’s financial, government, energy, chemical, and telecommunications companies.
APT37
APT37 is linked with North Korea. Reaper, StarCruft, and Group 123 are additional names for it.
APT37 has been associated with spear phishing attacks exploiting an Adobe Flash zero-day vulnerability since 2012.
Symptoms of Advanced Persistent Threats in a System
Let’s see what are the symptoms of APT in a system.
Targeted Spear Phishing Emails
To break into the system, hackers take assistance from emails. The emails are designed according to the interests of the victims. The nature and malefic content of the email are decided during the reconnaissance stage.
The email containing malicious content is then sent to the victims. It directs the victims to a malicious website the attacker chooses, where the malware downloads into the victim’s system.
Such emails are called spear phishing emails because they are strategically designed and are highly targeted.
90% of APT groups use spear phishing to break into a company’s internal system. Spear phishing emails use the victims’ personal information to make them appear authentic. It is pivotal that staff members in an organization are mindful of such emails and their potential impact.
Unusual Logins
Keep a check on the login activity of your network. Suppose there are multiple login attempts in a system. In that case, something is suspicious and needs to be checked, especially if the login attempts are made into the design of employees with higher executive roles.
Login attempts are also made during unusual hours because hackers mainly operate from a foreign land or when fewer employees work in a network to avoid detection.
Suspicious Program Activity
If you see command prompts opening and closing out automatically, your system is most probably attacked by ATP.
You may also see some unknown software downloaded on your system that hackers install to conduct their malicious activities.
Excessive Hard Drive Activity
Advanced Persistent Threats spread across the system slowly and gradually to avoid detection using the hard drive.
They also generate much traffic due to the back-and-forth communication between the hacker and the compromised system. This consequently increases the challenging drive activity. If the hard drive storage unexpectedly increases, your system has been infected.
Disabled Antivirus
APT stays within a system for a longer duration. To survive in a network without getting identified, APT also implements strategies.
Once it enters the system, it turns off the protective shield of the device. Due to the malicious activity of the malware, you will be unable to activate the protective shield or even download a new antivirus software.
Widespread Backdoor Trojans
Trojan is the most commonly found malware attackers use to steal your information. Trojan runs silently in the background without anybody’s knowledge. Attacks can then exploit the system, extract sensitive data, and even spy on the victim.
Victims are directed to malicious websites that contain infected data. From these websites, users can also download malicious information into their systems.
They are called Backdoor trojans because they leave a door open for the hacker to access the system back and forth, even if the login credentials are changed.
Changing of Files
When a system gets infected by APT activities, the data location gets tampered with or modified. Files containing sensitive information may be moved from server to server.
How to Prevent APT: 7 Prevention Tips
Advanced Prevention Threats cannot be prevented merely by one solution. It needs a strategic and sophisticated plan. The following strategies can be implemented to avoid these attacks on a fundamental level.
For high-level protection, it is suggested to collaborate with a Security Partner.
- Update all Plugins and Themes
Security vulnerabilities are often discovered in plugins and themes. To fix the vulnerability, developers release security patches so the organizations are not at risk. Hence, it suggested that you should update plugins to stay on the safe side from APTs.
- Network Segmentation
Network segmentation divides the data into multiple parts to avoid an overflow.
Several layers will be created across your network, and it will become challenging for any hacker to break into your system as he will have to crack all the data segments to reach your network’s core control system.
This data division will act as a safety barrier for your data against advanced persistent threats.
- Educate Employees
Educating your employees is essential to prevent your organization from cyberattacks. As an organization, you must invest in educating your employees on identifying APTs and their preventive measures.
By implementing threat intelligence, your employees can be educated about common APT attacks, tactics, techniques, procedures, and targets.
- Use Strong Passwords
A group of proficient hackers executes Advanced Persistent Threats. They can guess your password by using brute-force attack techniques.
These are the trial and error techniques to crack login credentials. Some even use password directories to guess your easy password.
Also, with advancements, hackers have developed software that can guess passwords without detection.
Hence, it’s essential to create a password that is complex and is a combination of multiple keys. It will be challenging for the hacker to crack your password if it is difficult, lengthy, and unique.
- Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
According to Multi-factor authentication statistics, it can prevent 99.9% of unauthorized login attempts.
As hackers try to barge into victims’ accounts by gaining access to their login credentials, they must take precautions to keep their systems secure.
Multi-factor authentication protects the system by asking for an additional one-time code when an unauthorized user tries to log in to the account or network.
Employees who enable two-factor authentication on their systems will receive a code on their mobile number or email address. Despite guessing the password, hackers cannot access their account as this additional information will thwart its efforts.
- Compliance Controls
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Compliance Control measures reduce the likelihood of APT attacks by ensuring that organizations implement security measures. Firewall is the most durable solution to prevent cyberattacks.
By installing firewalls, you protect yourself against online malicious attacks as they closely monitor data distribution to prevent accidental penetration and exposure against third parties.
Good compliance with safety protocols also makes it challenging for attackers to exploit vulnerabilities and gain access to systems and networks.
- Use a VPN
Cyber security should always start at the base level; nothing is better than PureVPN.
By using the option of dedicated IP and military-grade encryption, you can protect yourself from malicious attacks that are lurking around unnoticed.
APT Can’t Be Eradicated but Can be Avoided
The rate at which Advanced Persistent Attacks are performed is alarming, as organizations face severe consequences. To say that these threats will be eradicated is nearly impossible. However, they can be avoided.
With growing awareness, organizations should implement strategies to protect themselves from malicious activities. They must invest in strategic planning and cybersecurity to keep attackers at arm’s length.
PureVPN
October 20, 2023
2 years ago